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ME M C 
•« 

MARGUERITE ni ^ 

Queen of France, W 
OF 

MADAME DE V O 

Of the Cour; 

AND C) y 
A THE 1 

HuoaA^Moq aa smaqai^ ys aaxivzi 

THUOD gaHr TA, YAJ^ OT. 



P F C O 

1= ■ 




From the painting by V. de Paredes 




MEMOIRSOF 
MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

Queen of France, Wife of Henri IV 
OF 

MADAME DE POMPADOUR 

Of the Court of Louis XV 
AND OF 

CATHERINE DE MEDICI 

Queen of France, Wife of Henri H 



With a Special Ifttroduction 
and Illustrations 





tf 




19 


^M^teiJ 



NEW YORK 

P F COLLIER & SON 

PUBLISHERS 



Copyright 1910 
By p. F. Collier & Son 



©CI.A305503 



CONTENTS 

LETTER I 

PAGE 

Introduction. — Anecdotes of Marguerite's Infancy. — En- 
deavours Used to Convert Her to the New Religion. — 
She Is Confirmed in Catholicism. — The Court on a 
Progress. — A Grand Festivity Suddenly Interrupted. — 
The Confusion in Consequence 13 

LETTER II 

Message from the Due d'Anjou, Afterwards Henri III., to 
King Charles His Brother and the Queen-mother. — Her 
Fondness for Her Children. — Their Interview. — Anjou's 
Eloquent Harangue. — The Queen-mother's Character.— 
Discourse of the Due d'Anjou with Marguerite. — She Dis- 
covers Her Own Importance. — Engages to Serve Her 
Brother Anjou. — Is in High Favour with the Queen- 
mother 21 

LETTER III 

Le Guast. — His Character. — Anjou Affects to Be Jealous of 
the Guises. — Dissuades the Queen-mother from Reposing 
Confidence in Marguerite. — She Loses the Favour of the 
Queen-mother and Falls Sick. — Anjou's Hypocrisy. — He 
Introduces De Guise into Marguerite's Sick Chamber. — 
Marguerite Demanded in Marriage by the King of 
Portugal. — Made Uneasy on That Account. — Contrives to 
Relieve Herself. — The Match with Portugal Broken off. 2.7 

LETTER IV 

Death of the Queen of Navarre. — Marguerite's Marriage 
with Her Son, the King of Navarre, Afterwards Henri 
IV. of France. — The Preparations for That Solemnisation 
Described. — The Circumstances Which Led to the Mas- 
sacre of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Day . . 33 

3 
Memoirs — 1 ^°^* ^ 



4 CONTENTS 

LETTER V 

.XV> PAGE 

"^1%^ Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day 39 

LETTER VI 

Henri, Due d'Anjou, Elected King of Poland, Leaves 
France. — Huguenot Plots to Withdraw the Due d'Alengon 
and the King of Navarre from Court. — Discovered and 
Defeated by Marguerite's Vigilance. — She Draws Up an 
Eloquent Defence, Which Her Husband Delivers before 
a Committee from the Court of Parliament. — Alengon 
and Her Husband, under a Close Arrest, Regain Their 
Liberty by the Death of Charles IX 44 

LETTER VII 

Accession of Henri III. — A Journey to Lyons. — Marguerite's 
Faith in Supernatural Intelligence 48 

LETTER VIII 
What Happened at Lyons 52 

LETTER IX 

Fresh Intrigues. — Marriage of Henri III. — Bussi Arrives at 
Court and Narrowly Escapes Assassination .... 58 

LETTER X 

Bussi Is Sent from Court. — Marguerite's Husband Attacked 
with a Fit of Epilepsy. — Her Great Care of Him. — 
Torigni Dismissed from Marguerite's Service. — The King 
of Navarre and the Due d'Alengon Secretly Leave the 
Court 64 

LETTER XI 

Queen Marguerite under Arrest. — Attempt on Torigni's Life. 
— Her Fortunate Deliverance 71 

LETTER XII 
The Peace of Sens betwixt Henri III. and the Huguenots . 76 



CONTENTS 5 

LETTER XIII 

PAGE 

The League. — War Declared against the Huguenots. — Queen 
Marguerite Sets out for Spa 83 

LETTER XIV 

Description of Queen Marguerite's Equipage. — Her Journey- 
to Liege Described. — She Enters with Success upon Her 
Mission. — Striking Instance of Maternal Duty and Affec- 
tion in a Great Lady. — Disasters near the Close of the 
Journey 92 

LETTER XV 

The City of Liege Described. — Affecting Story of Made- 
moiselle de Tournon. — Fatal Effects of Suppressed 
Anguish of Mind 107 

^ LETTER XVI 

Queen Marguerite, on Her Return from Liege, Is in Danger 
of Being Made a Prisoner. — She Arrives, after Some 
Narrow Escapes, at La Fere 113 

LETTER XVII 

Good Effects of Queen Marguerite's Negotiations in Flan- 
ders. — She Obtains Leave to Go to the King of Navarre 
Her Husband, but Her Journey Is Delayed. — Court In- 
trigues and Plots. — The Due d'Alengon Again Put under 
Arrest 125 

LETTER XVIII 
The Brothers Reconciled. — Alengon Restored to His Liberty. 134 

LETTER XIX 

The Due d'Alengon Makes His Escape from Court. — Queen 
Marguerite's Fidelity Put to a Severe Trial .... 143 

- LETTER XX 

Queen Marguerite Permitted to Go to the King Her Hus- 
band. — Is Accompanied by the Queen-mother. — Mar- 



6 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

guerite Insulted by Her Husband's Secretary. — She 
Harbours Jealousy. — Her Attention to the King Her Hus- 
band during an Indisposition. — Their Reconciliation. — 
The War Breaks Out Afresh. — Affront Received from 
Marechal de Biron 151 

LETTER XXI 

Situation of Affairs in Flanders. — Peace Brought About by 
Due d'Alengon's Negotiation. — Marechal de Biron Apolo- 
gises for Firing on Nerac. — Henri Desperately in Love 
with Fosseuse. — Queen Marguerite Discovers Fosseuse to 
Be Pregnant, Which She Denies. — Fosseuse in Labour, 
— Marguerite's Generous Behaviour to Her. — Marguerite's 
Return to Paris 163 



INTRODUCTION 

The Secret Memoirs of Henry of Navarre's fa- 
mous queen possess a value which the passage of time 
seems but to heighten. Emanating as they undoubt- 
edly do from one of the chief actors in a momentous 
crisis in French history, and in the religious history 
of Europe as v^ell, their importance as first-hand docu- 
ments can hardly be overestimated. While the interest 
which attaches to their intimate discussions of people 
and manners of the day will appeal to the reader at the 
outset. 

Marguerite de Valois was the French contemporary 
of Queen Elizabeth of England, and their careers fur- 
nish several curious points of parallel. Marguerite 
was the daughter of the famous Catherine de Medicis, 
and was given in marriage by her scheming mother 
to Henry of Navarre, whose ascendant Bourbon star 
threatened to eclipse (as afterwards it did) the waning 
house of Valois. Catherine had four sons, three of 
whom successively mounted the throne of France, 
but all were childless. Although the king of the petty 
state of Navarre was a Protestant, and Catherine was 
the most fanatical of Catholics, she made this mar- 
riage a pretext for welding the two houses ; but actu- 
ally it seems to have been a snare to lure him to Paris, 
for it was at this precise time that the bloody Massacre 
of St. Bartholomew's day was ordered. Henry him- 
self escaped — it is said, through the protection of 
Marguerite, his bride, — ^but his adherents in the 
Protestant party were slain by the thousands. A 
wedded life begun under such sanguinary auspices was 

7 



B INTRODUCTION 

not destined to end happily. Indeed, their marriage 
resembled nothing so much as an armed truce, peace- 
able, and allowing both to pursue their several paths, 
and finally dissolved by mutual consent, in 1598, when 
Queen Marguerite was forty-five. The closing years 
of her life were spent in strict seclusion, at the Castle 
of Usson, in Auvergne, and it was at this time that she 
probably wrote her Memoirs. 

In the original, the Memoirs are written in a clear 
yigorous French, and in epistolary form. Their first 
editor divided them into three sections, or books. As 
a whole they cover the secret history of the Court of 
France from the years 1565 to 1582 — seventeen years 
of extraordinary interest, comprising, as they do, the 
Massacre of St. Bartholomew, already referred to, the 
formation of the famous League, the Peace of Sens, 
and the bitter religious persecutions which were at last 
ended by the Edict of Nantes issued after Henry of 
Navarre became Henry IV. of France. Besides the 
political bearing of the letters, they give a picturesque 
account of Court life at the end of the i6th century, 
the fashions and manners of the time, piquant descrip- 
tions, and amusing gossip, such as only a witty woman 
■ — as Marguerite certainly was — could inject into such 
subjects. The letters, indeed, abound in sprightly 
anecdote and small-talk, which yet have their value in 
lightening up the whole situation. 

The period covered coincides very nearly with the 
first half of Marguerite's own life. Incidents of her 
girlhood are given, leading to more important matters, 
personal and political, up to the twenty-ninth year of 
her age. The letters end, therefore, some seven years 
prior to the death of her brother, Henry HI. of France, 
and while she was still merely Queen of Navarre. 
It will always be a matter of regret that the latter half 
of her life was not likewise covered. 



INTRODUCTION 9 

These Memoirs first appeared in printed form in 
1628, thirteen years after their author's death. They 
enjoyed great popularity, and in 1656 were translated 
into English and published in London, with the fol- 
lowing erroneous title : '' The grand Cabinet Counsels 
unlocked; or, the most faithful Transaction of Court 
Affairs, and Growth and Continuance of the Civil 
Wars in France, during the Reigns of Charles the last, 
Henry III., and Henry IV., commonly called the 
Great. Most excellently written, in the French 
Tongue, by Margaret de Valois, Sister to the two first 
Kings, and Wife of the last. Faithfully translated 
by Robert Codrington, Master of Arts." Two years 
later the work was again translated, this time under 
the title of *' Memorials of Court Affairs." The mis- 
leading portion of Codrington's title is in regard to the 
reign of Henry IV. As already shown, the letters 
cease before that time, although chronicling many 
events of his early career. The present careful trans- 
lation has been made direct from the original, adhering 
as closely as permissible to the rugged but clear-cut 
verbal expressions of i6th century France. 

Queen Marguerite herself is described by historians 
and novelists as a singularly ^tractive woman, both 
physically and mentally. Of a little above the aver- 
age height, her figure was well-rounded and graceful, 
her carriage dignified and commanding. One writer 
thus describes her : " Her eyes were full, black, and 
sparkling; she had bright, chestnut-coloured hair, and 
a complexion fresh and blooming. Her skin was del- 
icately white, and her neck admirably well formed ; and 
this so generally admired beauty, the fashion of dress, 
in her time, admitted of being fully displayed." To 
her personal charms were added a ready wit and pol- 
ished manners. Her thoughts, whether spoken or 
written, were always clearly and gracefully expressed. 



lo INTRODUCTION 

In her retirement, at the dose of her life, she often 
amused herself by writing verses which she set to 
music and afterwards sang-, accompanying herself 
upon the lute, which she performed upon skilfully. 

Regarding her personal character there has been di- 
versity of opinion — as, indeed, there has been in the 
case of nearly every exalted personage. After her 
separation from the king, she was the subject of a 
scandalous attack, entitled Le Divorce Satyrique, ou 
les Amours de la Reyne Marguerite de Valois; but this 
anonymous libel was never seriously considered. M. 
Pierre de Bourdeville, Sieur de Brantome (better 
known by the final name), who gives many facts con- 
cerning her later life in his Anecdotes des Rois de 
France J is a staunch adherent of hers. Ronsard, the 
Court poet, is also extravagant in his praises of her, 
but chiefly of her beauty. Numerous other poets and 
romancers have found her life a favourite subject. 
Meyerbeer's opera, Les Huguenots, is based upon her 
wedding, and the ensuing Massacre. Dumas's well- 
known novel, Marguerite de Valois, gives her a some- 
what dubious reputation, as half -tool, half -agent for 
Catherine, and as the mistress of the historical La 
Mole. This doubtful phase, however, if true, was but 
in keeping with the fashion of the times. It is men- 
tioned merely as a possible line completing the por- 
trait of this brilliant woman, who lives again for us in 
the pages of her Memoirs. 



ON MARGUERITE DE VALOIS. i 

QUEEN OF NAVARRE. \ 

,s 

Dear native land ! and you, proud castles ! say j 

(Where grandsire/ father,^ and three brothers' lay, | 

Who each, in turn, the crown imperial wore), i 

Me will you own, your daughter whom you bore? i 

Me, once your greatest boast and chiefest pride, | 

By Bourbon and Lorraine,* when sought a bride; I 

Now widowed wife,® a queen without a throne, | 

Midst rocks and mountains® wander I alone. ; 

Nor yet hath Fortune vented all her spite, i 

But sets one up,^ who now enjoys my right, i 

Points to the boy,^ who henceforth claims the throne ' 

And crown, a son of mine should call his own. i 

But ah, alas ! for me 'tis now too late ® | 

To strive 'gainst Fortune and contend with Fate; j 

Of those I slighted, can I beg relief?" ; 

No; let me die the victim of my grief. ! 

And can I then be justly said to live? 1 

Dead in estate, do I then yet survive? -l 
Last of the name, I carry to the grave 

All the remains the House of Valois have. i 

i 

* FranQois I. ^ Henri II. ^ Frangois II., Charles IX., and Henri III. 

* Henri, King of Navarre, and Henri, Due de Guise. » ] 
^ Alluding to her divorce from Henri IV. * The castle of Usson. I 

* Marie de' Medici, whom Henri married after his divorce from Mar- 
guerite. ^ Louis XIII., the son of Henri and his queen, Marie de' Medici. \ 

^Alluding to the differences betwixt Marguerite and Henri, her hus- '< 

band. I 

" This is said with allusion to the supposition that she was rather ! 

inclined to favour the suit of the Due de Guise and reject Henri for a ] 

husband. i 



II 



/ 



THE MEMOIRS OF 
MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

LETTER I 

I SHOULD commend your work much more were I 
myself less praised in it; but I am unwilling to do 
so, lest my praises should seem rather the effect of 
self-love than to be founded on reason and justice. I 
am fearful that, like Themistocles, I should appear to 
admire their eloquence the most who are most for- 
ward to praise me. It is the usual frailty of our sex 
to be fond of flattery. I blame this in other women, 
and should wish not to be chargeable with it myself. 
Yet I confess that I take a pride in being painted 
by the hand of so able a master, however flattering 
the likeness may be. If I ever were possessed of the 
graces you have assigned to me, trouble and vexation 
render them no longer visible, and have even effaced 
them from my own recollection. So that I view my- 
self in your Memoirs, and say, with old Madame de 
Rendan, who, not having consulted her glass since 
her husband's death, on seeing her own face in the 
mirror of another lady, exclaimed, "Who is this?" 
Whatever my friends tell me when they see me now, 
I am inclined to think proceeds from the partiality of 
their affection. I am sure that you yourself, when 
you consider more impartially what you have said, 

13 



14 THE MEMOIRS OF 

will be induced to believe, according to these lines 
of Du Bellay : 

" C'est chercher Rome en Rome, 
Et rien de Rome en Rome ne trouver." 

('Tis to seek Rome, in Rome to go, 
And Rome herself at Rome not know.) 

But as we read with pleasure the history of the Siege 
of Troy, the magnificence of Athens, and other splen- 
did cities, which once flourished, but are now so en- 
tirely destroyed that scarcely the spot whereon they 
stood can be traced, so you please yourself with de- 
scribing these excellences of beauty which are no 
more, and which will be discoverable only in your 
writings. 

If you had taken upon you to contrast Nature and 
Fortune, you could not have chosen a happier theme 
upon which to descant, for both have made a trial of 
their strength on the subject of your Memoirs. What 
Nature did, you had the evidence of your own eyes to 
vouch for, but what was done by Fortune, you know 
only from hearsay; and hearsay, I need not tell you, 
is liable to be influenced by ignorance or malice, and, 
therefore, is not to be depended on. You will for 
that reason, I make no doubt, be pleased to receive 
these Memoirs from the hand which is most inter- 
ested in the truth of them. 

I have been induced to undertake writing my Mem- 
oirs the more from five or six observations which I 
have had occasion to make upon your work, as you 
appear to have been misinformed respecting certain 
particulars. For example, in that part where men- 
tion is made of Pau, and of my journey in France; 
likewise where you speak of the late Marechal de 
Biron, of Agen, and of the sally of the Marquis 
de Camillac from that place. 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 15 

These Memoirs might merit the honourable name 
of history from the truths contained in them, as I 
shall prefer truth to embellishment. In fact, to em- 
bellish my story I have neither leisure nor ability; I 
shall, therefore, do no more than give a simple nar- 
ration of events. They are the labours of my even- 
ings, and will come to you an unformed mass, to 
receive its shape from your hands, or as a chaos on 
which you have already thrown light. Mine is a his- 
tory most assuredly worthy to come from a man of 
honour, one who is a true Frenchman, born of illus- 
trious parents, brought up in the Court of the Kings 
my father and brothers, allied in blood and friend- 
ship to the most virtuous and accomplished women 
of our times, of which society I have had the good 
fortune to be the bond of union. 

I shall begin these Memoirs in the reign of Charles 
IX., and set out with the first remarkable event of 
my life which fell within my remembrance. Herein 
I follow the example of geographical writers, who 
having described the places within their knowledge, 
tell you that all beyond them are sandy deserts, coun- 
tries without inhabitants, or seas never navigated. 
Thus I might say that all prior to the commencement 
of these Memoirs was the barrenness of my infancy, 
when we can only be said to vegetate like plants, or 
live, like brutes, according to instinct, and not as 
human creatures, guided by reason. To those who 
had the direction of my earliest years I leave the task 
of relating the transactions of my infancy, if they 
find them as worthy of being recorded as the infan- 
tine exploits of Themistocles and Alexander, — the 
one exposing himself to be trampled on by the horses 
of a charioteer, who would not stop them when re- 
quested to do so, and the other refusing to run a race 
unless kings were to enter the contest against him. 



i6 THE MEMOIRS OF 

Amongst such memorable things might be related 
the answer I made the King my father, a short time 
before the fatal accident which deprived France of 
peace, and our family of its chief glory. I was then 
about four or five years of age, when the King, 
placing me on his knee, entered familiarly into chat 
with me. There were, in the same room, playing and 
diverting themselves, the Prince de Joinville, since 
the great and unfortunate Due de Guise, and the 
Marquis de Beaupreau, son of the Prince de la Roche- 
sur-Yon, who died in his fourteenth year, and by 
whose death his country lost a youth of most prom- 
ising talents. Amongst other discourse, the King 
asked which of the two Princes that were before me 
I liked best. I replied, " The Marquis." The King 
said, "Why so? He is not the handsomest." The 
Prince de Joinville was fair, with light-coloured hair, 
and the Marquis de Beaupreau brown, with dark hair. 
I answered, "Because he is the best behaved; whilst 
the Prince is always making mischief, and will be 
master over everybody." 

This was a presage of what we have seen happen 
since, when the whole Court was infected with heresy, 
about the time of the Conference of Poissy. It was 
with great difficulty that I resisted and preserved my- 
self from a change of religion at that time. Many 
ladies and lords belonging to Court strove to convert 
me to Huguenotism. The Due d'Anjou, since King 
Henri III. of France, then in his infancy, had been 
prevailed on to change his religion, and he often 
snatched my " Hours " out of my hand, and flung 
them into the fire, giving me Psalm Books and books 
of Huguenot prayers, insisting on my using them. I 
took the first opportunity to give them up to my gov- 
erness, Madame de Curton, whom God, out of his 
mercy to me, caused to continue steadfast in the Cath- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 17 

olic religion. She frequently took me to that pious, 
good man, the Cardinal de Tournon, who gave me 
good advice, and strengthened me in a perseverance 
in my religion, furnishing me with books and chaplets 
of beads in the room of those my brother Anjou took 
from me and burnt. 

Many of my brother's most intimate friends had 
resolved on my ruin, and rated me severely upon my 
refusal to change, saying it proceeded from a childish 
obstinacy; that if I had the least understanding, and 
would listen, like other discreet persons, to the ser- 
mons that were preached, I should abjure my unchar- 
itable bigotry; but I was, said they, as foolish as my 
governess. My brother Anjou added threats, and said 
the Queen my mother would give orders that I should 
be whipped. But this he said of his own head, for 
the Queen my mother did not, at that time, know 
of the errors he had embraced. As soon as it came 
to her knowledge, she took him to task, and severely 
reprimanded his governors, insisting upon their cor- 
recting him, and instructing him in the holy and 
ancient religion of his forefathers, from which she 
herself never swerved. When he used those menaces, 
as I have before related, I was a child seven or eight 
years old, and at that tender age would reply to him, 
" Well, get me whipped if you can; I will suffer whip- 
ping, and even death, rather than be damned." 

I could furnish you with many other replies of the 
like kind, which gave proof of the early ripeness of 
my judgment and my courage; but I shall not trouble 
myself with such researches, choosing rather to begin 
these Memoirs at the time when I resided constantly 
with the Queen my mother. 

Immediately after the Conference of Poissy, the 
civil wars commenced, and my brother Alengon and 
myself, on account of our youth, were sent to Am- 



i8 THE MEMOIRS OF 

boise, whither all the ladies of the country repaired 
to us. With them came your aunt, Madame de 
Dampierre, who entered into a firm friendship with 
me, which was never interrupted until her death broke 
it off. There was likewise your cousin, the Duchesse 
de Rais, who had the good fortune to hear there of 
the death of her brute of a husband, killed at the 
battle of Dreux. The husband I mean was the first 
she had, named M. d'Annebaut, who was unworthy 
to have for a wife so accomplished and charming a 
woman as your cousin. She and I were not then 
so intimate friends as we have become since, and shall 
ever remain. The reason was that, though older than 
I, she was yet young, and young girls seldom take 
much notice of children, whereas your aunt was of 
an age when women admire their innocence and en- 
gaging simplicity. 

I remained at Amboise until the Queen my mother 
was ready to set out on her grand progress, at which 
time she sent for me to come to her Court, which I 
did not quit afterwards. 

Of this progress I will not undertake to give you 
a description, being still so young that, though the 
whole is within my recollection, yet the particular 
passages of it appear to me but as a dream, and are 
now lost. I leave this task to others, of riper years, 
as you were yourself. You can well remember the 
magnificence that was displayed everywhere, particu- 
larly at the baptism of my nephew, the Due de Lor- 
raine, at Bar-le-Duc; at the meeting of M. and 
Madame de Savoy, in the city of Lyons; the interview 
at Bayonne betwixt my sister, the Queen of Spain, 
the Queen my mother, and King Charles my brother. 
In your account of this interview you would not for- 
get to make mention of the noble entertainment given 
by the Queen my mother, on an island, with the grand 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 19 

dances, and the form of the salon, which seemed ap- 
propriated by nature for such a purpose, it being a 
large meadow in the middle of the island, in the shape 
of an oval, surrounded on evea*y side by tall spreading 
trees. In this meadow the Queen my mother had 
disposed a circle of niches, each of them large enough 
to contain a table of twelve covers. At one end a 
platform was raised, ascended by four steps formed 
of turf. Here their Majesties were seated at a table 
under a lofty canopy. The tables were all served by 
troops of shepherdesses dressed in cloth of gold and 
satin, after the fashion of the different provinces of 
France. These shepherdesses, during the passage of 
the superb boats from Bayonne to the island, were 
placed in separate bands, in a meadow on each side 
of the causeway, raised with turf; and whilst their 
Majesties and the company were passing through the 
great salon, they danced. On their passage by water, 
the barges were followed by other boats, having on 
board vocal and instrumental musicians, habited like 
Nereids, singing and playing the whole time. After 
landing, the shepherdesses I have mentioned before 
received the company in separate troops, with songs 
and dances, after the fashion and accompanied by the 
music of the provinces they represented, — the Poite- 
vins playing on bagpipes; the Provengales on the viol 
and cymbal; the Burgundians and Champagners on 
the hautboy, bass viol, and tambourine; in like man- 
ner the Bretons and other provincialists. After the 
collation was served and the feast at an end, a large 
troop of musicians, habited like satyrs, was seen to 
come out of the opening of a rock, well lighted up, 
whilst nymphs were descending from the top in rich 
habits, who, as they came down, formed into a grand 
dance, — when, lo! fortune no longer favouring this 
brilliant festival, a sudden storm of rain came on, 



20 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

and all were glad to get off in the boats and make 
for town as fast as they could. The confusion in 
consequence of this precipitate retreat afforded as 
much matter to laugh at the next day as the splen- 
dour of the entertainment had excited admiration. In 
short, the festivity of this day was not forgotten, on 
one account or the other, amidst the variety of the 
like nature which succeeded it in the course of this 
progress. 



LETTER II 

A T the time my magnanimous brother Charles 
l\ reigned over France, and some few years after 
^ -^ our return from the grand progress mentioned 
in my last letter, the Huguenots having renewed the 
war, a gentleman, despatched from my brother Anjou 
(afterwards Henri III. of France), came to Paris to 
inform the King and the Queen my mother that the 
Huguenot army was reduced to such an extremity 
that he hoped in a few days to force them to give 
him battle. He added his earnest wish for the hon- 
our of seeing them at Tours before that happened, 
so that, in case Fortune, envying him the glory he 
had already achieved at so early an age, should, on the 
so much looked-for day, after the good service he 
had done his religion and his King, crown the victory 
with his death, he might not have cause to regret 
leaving this world without the satisfaction of receiv- 
ing their approbation of his conduct from their own 
mouths, — a satisfaction which would be more valua- 
ble, in his opinion, than the trophies he had gained by 
his two former victories. 

I leave to your own imagination to suggest to you 
the impression which such a message from a dearly 
beloved son made on the mind of a mother who doted 
on all her children, and was always ready to sacrifice 
her own repose, nay, even her life, for their happiness. 

She resolved immediately to set off and take the 
King with her. She had, besides myself, her usual 
small company of female attendants, together with 
'Mesdames de Rais and de Sauves. She flew on the 

21 



22 THE MEMOIRS OF 

wings of maternal affection, and reached Tours in 
three days and a half. A journey from Paris, made 
with such precipitation, was not unattended with ac- 
cidents and some inconveniences, of a nature to occa- 
sion much mirth and laughter. The poor Cardinal de 
Bourbon, who never quitted her, and whose temper of 
mind, strength of body, and habits of life were ill 
suited to encounter privations and hardships, suffered 
greatly from this rapid journey. 

We found my brother Anjou at Plessis-leS-Tours, 
with the principal officers of his army, who were the 
flower of the princes and nobles of France. In their 
presence he delivered a harangue to the King, giving 
a detail of his conduct in the execution of his charge, 
beginning from the time he left the Court. His dis- 
course was framed with so much eloquence, and 
spoken so gracefully, that it was admired by all pres- 
ent. It appeared matter of astonishment that a youth 
of sixteen should reason with all the gravity and pow- 
ers of an orator of ripe years. The comeliness of 
his person, which at all times pleads powerfully in 
favour of a speaker, was in him set off by the laurels 
obtained in two victories. In short, it was difficult to 
say which most contributed to make him the admira- 
tion of all his hearers. 

It is equally as impossible for me to describe in 
words the feelings of my mother on this occasion, who 
loved him above all her children, as it was for the 
painter to represent on canvas the grief of Iphigenia's 
father. Such an overflow of joy would have been 
discoverable in the looks and actions of any other 
woman, but she had her passions so much under the 
control of prudence and discretion that there was 
nothing to be perceived in her countenance, or gath- 
ered from her words, of what she felt inwardly in 
her mind. She was, indeed, a perfect mistress of 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 23 

herself, and regulated her discourse and her actions 
by the rules of wisdom and sound policy, showing that 
a person of discretion does upon all occasions only 
what is proper to be done. She did not amuse her- 
self on this occasion with listening to the praises 
which issued from every mouth, and sanction them 
with her own approbation; but, selecting the chief 
points in the speech relative to the future conduct of 
the war, she laid them before the Princes and great 
lords, to be deliberated upon, in order to settle a plan 
of operations. 

To arrange such a plan a delay of some days was 
requisite. During this interval, the Queen my mother 
walking in the park with some of the Princes, my 
brother Anjou begged me to take a turn or two with 
him in a retired walk. He then addressed me in the 
following words : " Dear sister, the nearness of blood, 
as well as our having been brought up together, nat- 
urally, as they ought, attach us to each other. You 
must already have discovered the partiality I have 
had for you above my brothers, and I think that I 
have perceived the same in you for me. We have 
been hitherto led to this by nature, without deriving 
any other advantage from it than the sole pleasure of 
conversing together. So far might be well enough 
for our childhood, but now we are no longer children. 
You know the high situation in which, by the favour 
of God and our good mother the Queen, I am here 
placed. You may be assured that, as you are the 
person in the world whom I love and esteem the most, 
you will always be a partaker of my advancement. 
I know you are not wanting in wit and discretion, 
and I am sensible you have it in your power to do 
me service with the Queen our mother, and preserve 
me in my present emplo3^ments. It is a great point 
obtained for me, always to stand well in her favour. 



24 THE MEMOIRS OF 

I am fearful that my absence may be prejudicial to 
that purpose, and I must necessarily be at a distance 
from Court. Whilst I am away, the King my brother 
is with her, and has it in his power to insinuate him- 
self into her good graces. This I fear, in the end, 
may be of disservice to me. The King my brother is 
growing older every day. He does not want for cour- 
age, and, though he now diverts himself with hunting, 
he may grow ambitious, and choose rather to chase 
men than beasts; in such a case I must resign to him 
my commission as his lieutenant. This would prove 
the greatest mortification that could happen to me, 
and I would even prefer death to it. Under such an 
apprehension I have considered of the means of pre- 
vention, and see none so feasible as having a confi- 
dential person about the Queen my mother, who shall 
always be ready to espouse and support my cause. I 
know no one so proper for that purpose as yourself, 
who will be, I doubt not, as attentive to my interest 
as I should be myself. You have wit, discretion, and 
fidelity, which are all that are wanting, provided you 
will be so kind as to undertake such a good office. In 
that case I shall have only to beg of you not to neg- 
lect attending her morning and evening, to be the first 
with her and the last to leave her. This will induce 
her to repose a confidence and open her mind to you. 
To make her the more ready to do this, I shall take 
every opportunity to commend your good sense and 
understanding, and to tell her that I shall take it kind 
in her to leave off treating you as a child, which, I 
shall say, will contribute to her own comfort and sat- 
isfaction. I am well convinced that she will listen to 
my advice. Do you speak to her with the same con- 
fidence as you do to me, and be assured that she will 
approve of it. It will conduce to your own happiness 
to obtain her favour. You may do yourself service 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 25 

whilst you are labouring for my interest ; and you may 
rest satisfied that, after God, I shall think I owe all 
the good fortune which may befall me to yourself." 

This was entirely a new kind of language to me. 
I had hitherto thought of nothing but amusements, 
of dancing, hunting, and the like diversions; nay, I 
had never yet discovered any inclination of setting 
myself off to advantage by dress, and exciting an 
admiration of my person and figure. I had no am- 
bition of any kind, and had been so strictly brought 
up under the Queen my mother that I scarcely durst 
speak before her; and if she chanced to turn her eyes 
towards me I trembled, for fear that I had done some- 
thing to displease her. At the conclusion of my 
brother's harangue, I was half inclined to reply to 
him in the words of Moses, when he was spoken to 
from the burning bush : " Who am I, that I should go 
unto Pharaoh ? Send, I pray thee, by the hand of him 
whom thou wilt send." 

However, his words inspired me with resolution 
and powers I did not think myself possessed of be- 
fore. I had naturally a degree of courage, and, as 
soon as I recovered from my astonishment, I found 
I was quite an altered person. His address pleased 
me, and wrought in me a confidence in myself; and 
I found I was become of more consequence than I 
had ever conceived I had been. Accordingly, I re- 
plied to him thus : " Brother, if God grant me the 
power of speaking to the Queen our mother as I have 
the will to do, nothing can be wanting for your serv- 
ice, and you may expect to derive all the good you 
hope from it, and from my solicitude and attention 
for your interest. With respect to my undertaking 
such a matter for you, you will soon perceive that 
I shall sacrifice all the pleasures in this world to my 
watchfulness for your service. You may perfectly 



26 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

rely on me, as there is no one that honours or regards 
you more than I do. Be well assured that I shall 
act for you with the Queen my mother as zealously 
as you would for yourself." 

These sentiments were more strongly impressed 
upon my mind than the words I made use of were 
capable of conveying an idea of. This will appear 
more fully in my following letters. 

As soon as we were returned from walking, the 
Queen my mother retired with me into her closet, 
and addressed the following words to me : '' Your 
brother has been relating the conversation you have 
had together; he considers you no longer as a child, 
neither shall I. It will be a great comfort to me to 
converse with you as I would with your brother. For 
the future you will freely speak your mind, and have 
no apprehensions of taking too great a liberty, for it 
is what I wish." These words gave me a pleasure 
then which I am now unable to express. I felt a 
satisfaction and a joy which nothing before had ever 
caused me to feel. I now considered the pastimes of 
my childhood as vain amusements. I shunned the 
society of my former companions of the same age. I 
disliked dancing and hunting, which I thought beneath 
my attention. I strictly complied with her agreeable 
injunction, and never missed being with her at her 
rising in the morning and going to rest at night. 
She did me the honour, sometimes, to hold me in con- 
versation for two and three hours at a time. God 
was so gracious with me that I gave her great satis- 
faction; and she thought she could not sufficiently 
praise me to those ladies who were about her. I 
spoke of my brother's affairs to her, and he was con- 
stantly apprised by me of her sentiments and opinion; 
so that he had every reason to suppose I was firmly 
attached to his interest. 



LETTER III 

I CONTINUED to pass my time with the Queen my 
mother, greatly to my satisfaction, until after the 
battle of Moncontour. By the same despatch that 
brought the news of this victory to the Court, my 
brother, who was ever desirous to be near the Queen 
my mother, wrote her word that he was about to lay 
siege to St. Jean d'Angely, and that it would be nec- 
essary that the King should be present whilst it w^as 
going on. She, more anxious to see him than he could 
be to have her near him, hastened to set out on the 
journey, taking me with her, and her customary train 
of attendants. I likewise experienced great joy upon 
the occasion, having no suspicion that any mischief 
awaited me. I was still young and without expe- 
rience, and I thought the happiness I enjoyed was 
always to continue; but the malice of Fortune pre- 
pared for me at this interview a reverse that I little 
expected, after the fidelity with which I had dis- 
charged the trust my brother had reposed in me. 

Soon after our last meeting, it seems, my brother 
Anjou had taken Le Guast to be near his person, who 
had ingratiated himself so far into his favour and con- 
fidence that he saw only with his eyes, and spoke but 
as he dictated. This evil-disposed man, whose whole 
life was one continued scene of wickedness, had per- 
verted his mind and filled it with maxims of the most 
atrocious nature. He advised him to have no regard 
but for his own interest; neither to love nor put trust 
in any one; and not to promote the views or advan- 

27 



28 THE MEMOIRS OF 

tage of either brother or sister. These and other 
maxims of the Hke nature, drawn from the school of 
MachiavelH, he was continually suggesting to him. 
He had so frequently inculcated them that they were 
strongly impressed on his mind, insomuch that, upon 
our arrival, when, after the first compliments, my 
mother began to open in my praise and express the 
attachment I had discovered for him, this was his 
reply, which he delivered with the utmost coldness: 
" He was well pleased," he said, " to have succeeded 
in the request he had made to me; but that prudence 
directed us not to continue to make use of the same 
expedients, for what was profitable at one time might 
not be so at another." She asked him why he made 
that observation. This question afforded the oppor- 
tunity he wished for, of relating a story he had fab- 
ricated, purposely to ruin me with her. 

He began with observing to her that I was grown 
very handsome, and that M. de Guise wished to marry 
me; that his uncles, too, were very desirous of such a 
match; and, if I should entertain a like passion for 
him, there would be danger of my discovering to him 
all she said to me; that she well knew the ambition 
of that house, and how ready they were, on all occa- 
sions, to circumvent ours. It would, therefore, be 
proper that she should not, for the future, communi- 
cate any matter of State to me, but, by degrees, 
withdraw her confidence. 

I discovered the evil effects proceeding from this 
pernicious advice on the very same evening. I re- 
marked an unwillingness on her part to speak to me 
before my brother; and, as soon as she entered into 
discourse with him, she commanded me to go to bed. 
This command she repeated two or three times. I 
quitted her closet, and left them together in conversa- 
tion; but, as soon as he was gone, I returned and en- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 29 

treated her to let me know if I had been so unhappy 
as to have done anything, through ignorance, which 
had given her offence. She was at first incHned to 
dissemble with me ; but at length she said to me thus : 
*' Daughter, your brother is prudent and cautious; you 
ought not to be displeased with him for what he does, 
and you must believe what I shall tell you is right 
and proper." She then related the conversation she 
had with my brother, as I have just written it; and 
she then ordered me never to speak to her in my broth- 
er's presence. 

These words were like so many daggers plunged 
into my breast. In my disgrace, I experienced as 
much grief as I had before joy on being received 
into her favour and confidence. I did not omit to 
say everything to convince her of my entire ignorance 
of what my brother had told her. I said it was a 
matter I had never heard mentioned before; and 
that, had I known it, I should certainly have made 
her immediately acquainted with it. All I said was 
to no purpose; my brother's words had made the 
first impression; they were constantly present in her 
mind, and outweighed probability and truth. When 
I discovered this, I told her that I felt less uneasiness 
at being deprived of my happiness than I did joy when 
I had acquired it; for my brother had taken it from 
me, as he had given it. He had given it without 
reason ; he had taken it away without cause. He 
had praised me for discretion and prudence when I 
did not merit it, and he suspected my fidelity on 
grounds wholly imaginary and fictitious. I concluded 
with assuring her that I should never forget my broth- 
er's behaviour on this occasion. 

Hereupon she flew into a passion and commanded 
me not to make the least show of resentment at his 
behaviour. From that hour she gradually withdrew 



30 THE MEMOIRS OF 

her favour from me. Her son became the god of her 
idolatry, at the shrine of whose will she sacrificed 
everything. 

The grief which I inwardly felt was very great and 
overpowered all my faculties, until it wrought so far 
on my constitution as to contribute to my receiving 
the infection which then prevailed in the army. A 
few days after I fell sick of a raging fever, attended 
with purple spots, a malady which carried off num- 
bers, and, amongst the rest, the two principal physi- 
cians belonging to the King and Queen, Chappelain 
and Castelan. Indeed, few got over the disorder 
after being attacked with it. 

In this extremity the Queen my mother, who partly 
guessed the cause of my illness, omitted nothing that 
might serve to remove it; and, without fear of conse- 
quences, visited me frequently. Her goodness con- 
tributed much to my recovery; but my brother's 
hypocrisy was sufficient to destroy all the benefit I 
received from her attention, after having been guilty 
of so treacherous a proceeding. After he had proved 
so ungrateful to me, he came and sat at the foot of 
my bed from morning to night, and appeared as 
anxiously attentive as if we had been the most per- 
fect friends. My mouth was shut up by the com- 
mand I had received from the Queen our mother, so 
that I only answered his dissembled concern with 
sighs, like Burrus in the presence of Nero, when he 
was dying by the poison administered by the hands 
of that tyrant. The sighs, however, which I vented 
in my brother's presence, might convince him that I 
attributed my sickness rather to his ill offices than to 
the prevailing contagion. 

God had mercy on me, and supported me through 
this dangerous illness. After I had kept my bed a 
fortnight, the army changed its quarters, and I was 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 31 

conveyed away with it in a litter. At the end of each 
day's march, I found King Charles at the door of my 
quarters, ready, with the rest of the good gentlemen 
belonging to the Court, to carry my litter up to my 
bedside. In this manner I came to Angers from St. 
Jean d'Angely, sick in body, but more sick in mind. 
Here, to my misfortune, M. de Guise and his uncles 
had arrived before me. This was a circumstance 
which gave my good brother great pleasure, as it 
afforded a colourable appearance to his story. I 
soon discovered the advantage my brother would make 
of it to increase my already too great mortification; 
for he came daily to see me, and as constantly brought 
M. de Guise into my chamber with him. He pre- 
tended the sincerest regard for De Guise, and, to 
make him believe it, would take frequent opportu- 
nities of embracing him, crying out at the same time, 
*' Would to God you were my brother ! " This he 
often put in practice before me, which M. de Guise 
seemed not to comprehend; but I, who knew his ma- 
licious designs, lost all patience, yet did not dare to 
reproach him with his hypocrisy. 

As soon as I was recovered, a treaty was set on 
foot for a marriage betwixt the King of Portugal and 
me, an ambassador having been sent for that purpose. 
The Queen my mother commanded me to prepare 
to give the ambassador an audience; which I did 
accordingly. My brother had made her believe that 
I was averse to this marriage; accordingly, she took 
me to task upon it, and questioned me on the subject, 
expecting she should find some cause to be angry 
with me. I told her my will had always been guided 
by her own, and that whatever she thought right for 
me to do, I should do it. She answered me, angrily, 
according as she had been wrought upon, that I did 
not speak the sentiments of my heart, for she well 



32 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

knew that the Cardinal de Lorraine had persuaded 
me into a promise of having his nephew. I begged 
her to forward this match with the King of Portugal, 
and I would convince her of my obedience to her com- 
mands. Every day some new matter was reported 
to incense her against me. All these were machina- 
tions worked up by the mind of Le Guast. In short, 
I was constantly receiving some fresh mortification, 
so that I hardly passed a day in quiet. On one side, 
the King of Spain was using his utmost endeavours 
to break off the match with Portugal, and M. de 
Guise, continuing at Court, furnished grounds for per- 
secuting me on the other. Still, not a single person 
of the Guises ever mentioned a word to me on the sub- 
ject; and it was well known that, for more than a 
twelvemonth, M. de Guise had been paying his ad- 
dresses to the Princesse de Porcian; but the slow 
progress made in bringing this match to a conclusion 
was said to be owing to his designs upon me. 

As soon as I made this discovery I resolved to 
write to my sister, Madame de Lorraine, who had 
a great influence in the House of Porcian, begging 
her to use her endeavours to withdraw M. de Guise 
from Court, and make him conclude his match with 
the Princess, laying open to her the plot which had 
been concerted to ruin the Guises and me. She 
readily saw through it, came immediately to Court, 
and concluded the match, which delivered me from 
the aspersions cast on my character, and convinced the 
Queen my mother that what I had told her was the 
real truth. This at the same time stopped the mouths 
of my enemies and gave me some repose. 

At length the King of Spain, unwilling that the 
King of Portugal should marry out of his family, 
broke off the treaty which had been entered upon for 
my marriage with him. 



LETTER IV> 

SOME short time after this a marriage was pro- 
jected betwixt the Prince of Navarre, now our 
renowned King Henri IV., and me. 

The Queen my mother, as she sat at table, dis- 
coursed for a long time upon the subject with M. de 
Meru, the House of Montmorency having first pro- 
posed the match. After the Queen had risen from ta- 
ble, he told me she had commanded him to mention 
it to me. I replied that it was quite unnecessary, as 
I had no will but her own; however, I should wish 
she would be pleased to remember that I was a Catho- 
lic, and that I should dislike to marry any one of a 
contrary persuasion. 

Soon after this the Queen sent for me to attend 
her in her closet. She there informed me that the 
Montmorencys had proposed this match to her, and 
that she was desirous to learn my sentiments upon it. 
I answered that my choice was governed by her 
pleasure, and that I only begged her not to forget 
that I was a good Catholic. 

This treaty was in negotiation for some time after 
this conversation, and was not finally settled until the 
arrival of the Queen of Navarre, his mother, at Court, 
where she died soon after. 

Whilst the Queen of Navarre lay on her death-bed, 
a circumstance happened of so whimsical a nature 
that, though not of consequence to merit a place in 
the history, it may very well deserve to be related 
by me to you. Madame de Nevers, whose oddities 
you well know, attended the Cardinal de Bourbon^ 
A— a 33 



34 • THE MEMOIRS OF 

Madame de Guise, the Princesse de Conde, her sisters, 
and myself to the late Queen of Navarre's apart- 
ments, whither we all went to pay those last duties 
which her rank and our nearness of blood demanded 
of us. We found the Queen in bed with her curtains 
undrawn, the chamber not disposed with the pomp 
and ceremonies of our religion, but after the simple 
manner of the Huguenots; that is to say, there were 
no priests, no cross, nor any holy water. We kept 
ourselves at some distance from the bed, but Madame 
de Nevers, whom you know the Queen hated more 
than any woman besides, and which she had shown 
both in speech and by actions, — Madame de Nevers, 
I say, approached the bedside, and, to the great 
astonishment of all present, who well knew the en- 
mity subsisting betwixt them, took the Queen's hand, 
with many low curtseys, and kissed it; after which, 
making another curtsey to the very ground, she re- 
tired and rejoined us. 

A few months after the Queen's death, the Prince 
of Navarre, or rather, as he was then styled, the King, 
came to Paris in deep mourning, attended by eight 
hundred gentlemen, all in mourning habits. He was 
received with every honour by King Charles and the 
whole Court, and, in a few days after his arrival, our 
marriage was solemnised with all possible magnifi- 
cence; the King of Navarre and his retinue putting 
off their mourning and dressing themselves in the 
most costly manner. The whole Court, too, was 
richly attired; all which you can better conceive than 
I am able to express. For my own part, I was set 
out in a most royal manner; I wore a crown on my 
head with the coet, or regal close gown of ermine, 
and I blazed in diamonds. My blue-coloured robe 
had a train to it of four ells in length, which was sup- 
ported by three princesses. A platform had been 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 35 

raised, some height from the ground, which led from 
the Bishop's palace to the Church of Notre-Dame. It 
was hung with cloth of gold; and below it stood the 
people in throngs to view the procession, stifling with 
heat. We were received at the church door by the 
Cardinal de Bourbon, who officiated for that day, and 
pronounced the nuptial benediction. After this we 
proceeded on the same platform to the tribune which 
separates the nave from the choir, where was a 
double staircase, one leading into the choir, the other 
through the nave to the church door. The King of 
Navarre passed by the latter and went out of church. 

But fortune, which is ever changing, did not fail 
soon to disturb the felicity of this union. This was 
occasioned by the wound received by the Admiral, 
which had wrought the Huguenots up to a degree of 
desperation. The Queen my mother was reproached 
on that account in such terms by the elder Pardaillan 
and some other principal Huguenots, that she began 
to apprehend some evil design. M. de Guise and my 
brother the King of Poland, since Henri III. of 
France, gave it as their advice to be beforehand with 
the Huguenots. King Charles was of a contrary 
opinion. He had a great esteem for M. de La Roche- 
foucauld, Teligny, La Noue, and some other leading 
men of the same religion; and, as I have since heard 
him say, it was with the greatest difficulty he could 
be prevailed upon to give his consent, and not before 
he had been made to understand that his own life and 
the safety of his kingdom depended upon it. 

The King having learned that Maurevel had made 
an attempt upon the Admiral's life, by firing a pistol 
at him through a window, — in which attempt he 
failed, having wounded the Admiral only in the shoul- 
der, — and supposing that Maurevel had done this at 

the instance of M. de Guise, to revenge the death of 

Memoirs — 2 VoL 1 



136 THE MEMOIRS OF 

his father, whom the Admiral had caused to be killed 
in the same manner by Poltrot, he was so much in- 
censed against M. de Guise that he declared with an 
oath that he would make an example of him; and, 
indeed, the King would have put M. de Guise under 
an arrest, if he had not kept out of his sight the 
whole day. The Queen my mother used every argu- 
ment to convince King Charles that what had been 
done was for the good of the State; and this be- 
cause, as I observed before, the King had so great a 
regard for the Admiral, La Noue, and Teligny, on 
account of their bravery, being himself a prince of a 
gallant and noble spirit, and esteeming others in 
whom he found a similar disposition. Moreover, 
these designing men had insinuated themselves into 
the King's favour by proposing an expedition to Flan- 
ders, with a view of extending his dominions and ag- 
grandising his power, propositions which they well 
knew would secure to themselves an influence over his 
royal and generous mind. 

Upon this occasion, the Queen my mother repre- 
sented to the King that the attempt of M. de Guise 
upon the Admiral's life was excusable in a son who, 
being denied justice, had no other means of avenging 
his father's death. Moreover, the Admiral, she said, 
had deprived her by assassination, during his minority 
and her regency, of a faithful servant in the person of 
Gharri, commander of the King's body-guard, which 
rendered him deserving of the like treatment. 

Notwithstanding that the Queen my mother spoke 
thus to the King, discovering by her expressions and 
in her looks all the grief which she inwardly felt on 
the recollection of the loss of persons who had been 
useful to her; yet, so much was King Charles inclined 
to save those who, as he thought, would one day be 
serviceable to him, that he still persisted in his deter- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 37 

mination to punish M. de Guise, for whom he ordered 
strict search to be made. 

At length Pardaillan, disclosing by his menaces, 
during the supper of the Queen my mother, the evil 
intentions of the Huguenots, she plainly perceived that 
things were brought to so near a crisis, that, unless 
steps were taken that very night to prevent it, the 
King and herself were in danger of being assassinated. 
She, therefore, came to the resolution of declaring to 
King Charles his real situation. For this purpose she 
thought of the Marechal de Rais as the most proper 
person to break the matter to the King, the Marshal 
being greatly in his favour and confidence. 

Accordingly, the Marshal went to the King in his 
closet, between the hours of nine and ten, and told 
him he was come as a faithful servant to discharge 
his duty, and lay before him the danger in which he 
stood, if he persisted in his resolution of punishing 
M. de Guise, as he ought now to be informed that the 
attempt made upon the Admiral's life was not set on 
foot by him alone, but that his (the King's) brother 
the King of Poland, and the Queen his mother, had 
their shares in it; that he must be sensible how much 
the Queen lamented Gharri's assassination, for which 
she had great reason, having very few servants about 
her upon whom she could rely, and as it happened 
during the King's minority, — at the time, moreover, 
when France was divided between the Catholics and 
the Huguenots, M. de Guise being at the head of the 
former, and the Prince de Conde of the latter, both 
alike striving to deprive him of his crown; that 
through Providence, both his crown and kingdom had 
been preserved by the prudence and good conduct of 
the Queen Regent, who in this extremity found herself 
powerfully aided by the said Gharri, for which reason 
she had vowed to avenge his death; that, as to the 



38 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

Admiral, he must be ever considered as dangerous to 
the State, and whatever show he might make of affec- 
tion for his Majesty's person, and zeal for his service 
in Flanders, they must be considered as mere pre- 
tences, which he used to cover his real design of re- 
ducing the kingdom to a state of confusion. 

The Marshal concluded with observing that the 
original intention had been to make away with the 
Admiral only, as the most obnoxious man in the 
kingdom; but Maurevel having been so unfortunate 
as to fail in his attempt, and the Huguenots becom- 
ing desperate enough to resolve to take up arms, with 
design to attack, not only M. de Guise, but the Queen 
his mother, and his brother the King of Poland, sup- 
posing them, as well as his Majesty, to have com- 
manded Maurevel to make his attempt, he saw noth- 
ing but cause of alarm for his Majesty's safety, — as 
well on the part of the Catholics, if he persisted in 
his resolution to punish M. de Guise, as of the Hugue- 
nots, for the reasons which he had just laid be- 
fore him. 



LETTER V 

KING CHARLES, a prince of great prudence, 
always paying a particular deference to his 
mother, and being much attached to the Cath- 
olic religion, now convinced of the intentions of the 
Huguenots, adopted a sudden resolution of follow- 
ing his mother's counsel, and putting himself under 
the safeguard of the Catholics. It was not, however, 
without extreme regret that he found he had it not 
in his power to save Teligny, La Noue, and M. de 
La Rochefoucauld. 

He went to the apartments of the Queen his mother, 
and sending for M. de Guise and all the Princes and 
Catholic officers, the " Massacre of St. Bartholo- 
mew " was that night resolved upon. 

Immediately every hand, was at work; chains were 
drawn across the streets, the alarm-bells were sounded, 
and every man repaired to his post, according to the 
orders he had received, whether it was to attack the 
Admiral's quarters, or those of the other Huguenots. 
M. de Guise hastened to the Admiral's, and Besme, a 
gentleman in the service of the former, a German by 
birth, forced into his chamber, and having slain him 
with a dagger, threw his body out of a window to his 
master. 

I was perfectly ignorant of what was going for- 
ward. I observed every one to be in motion: the 
Huguenots, driven to despair by the attack upon the 
Admiral's life, and the Guises, fearing they should 
not have justice done them, whispering all they met 
in the ear. 

39 



40 THE MEMOIRS OF 

The Huguenots were suspicious of me because I 
was a Catholic, and the CathoHcs because I was mar- 
ried to the King of Navarre, who was a Huguenot. 
This being the case, no one spoke a syllable of the 
matter to me. 

At night, when I went into the bedchamber of the 
Queen my mother, I placed myself on a coffer, next 
my sister Lorraine, who, I could not but remark, 
appeared greatly cast down. The Queen my mother 
was in conversation with some one, but, as soon as 
she espied me, she bade me go to bed. As I was 
taking leave, my sister seized me by the hand and 
stopped me, at the same time shedding a flood of 
tears : " For the love of God," cried she, " do not 
stir out of this chamber ! " I was greatly alarmed 
at this exclamation; perceiving which, the Queen my 
mother called my sister to her, and chid her very 
severely. My sister replied it was sending me away 
to be sacrificed; for, if any discovery should be made, 
I should be the first victim of their revenge. The 
Queen my mother made answer that, if it pleased 
God, I should receive no hurt, but it was necessary 
I should go, to prevent the suspicion that might arise 
from my staying. 

I perceived there was something on foot which I 
was not to know, but what it was I could not make 
out from anything they said. 

The Queen again bade me go to bed in a peremp- 
tory tone. My sister wished me a good night, her 
tears flowing apace, but she did not dare to say a 
word more; and I left the bedchamber more dead 
than alive. 

As soon as I reached my own closet, I threw 
myself upon my knees and prayed to God to take 
me into his protection and save me; but from whom 
or what, I was ignorant. Hereupon the King my 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 41 

husband, who was already in bed, sent for me. I 
went to him, and found the bed surrounded by thirty 
or forty Huguenots, who were entirely unknown to 
me; for I had been then but a very short time 
married. Their whole discourse, during the night, 
was upon what had happened to the Admiral, and 
they all came to a resolution of the next day de- 
manding justice of the King against M. de Guise; 
and, if it was refused, to take it themselves. 

For my part, I was unable to sleep a wink the whole 
night, for thinking of my sister's tears and distress, 
which had greatly alarmed me, although I had not 
the least knowledge of the real cause. As soon as 
day broke, the King my husband said he would rise 
and play at tennis until King Charles was risen, when 
he would go to him immediately and demand jus- 
tice. He left the bedchamber, and all his gentlemen 
followed. 

As soon as I beheld it was broad day, I appre- 
hended all the danger my sister had spoken of was 
over; and being inclined to sleep, I bade my nurse 
make the door fast, and I applied myself to take 
some repose. In about an hour I was awakened by 
a violent noise at the door, made with both hands 
and feet, and a voice calling out, " Navarre ! Na- 
varre ! " My nurse, supposing the King my husband 
to be at the door, hastened to open it, when a gen- 
tleman, named M. de Teian, ran in, and threw himself 
immediately upon my bed. He had received a wound 
in his arm from a sword, and another by a pike, and 
was then pursued by four archers, who followed him 
into the bedchamber. Perceiving these last, I jumped 
out of bed, and the poor gentleman after me, holding 
me fast by the waist. I did not then know him; 
neither was I sure that he came to do me no harm, 
or whether the archers were in pursuit of him or me. 



k^2 THE MEMOIRS OF 

In this situation I screamed aloud, and he cried out 
likewise, for our fright was mutual. At length, by- 
God's providence, M. de Nangay, captain of the guard, 
came into the bedchamber, and, seeing me thus sur- 
rounded, though he could not help pitying me, he was 
scarcely able to refrain from laughter. However, he 
reprimanded the archers very severely for their indis- 
cretion, and drove them out of the chamber. At my 
request he granted the poor gentleman his life, and I 
had him put to bed in my closet, caused his wounds to 
be dressed, and did not suffer him to quit my apart- 
ment until he was perfectly cured. I changed my 
shift, because it was stained with the blood of this 
man, and, whilst I was doing so, De Nangay gave 
me an account of the transactions of the foregoing 
night, assuring me that the King my husband was 
safe, and actually at that moment in the King's bed- 
chamber. He made me muffle myself up in a cloak, 
and conducted me to the apartment of my sister, 
Madame de Lorraine, whither I arrived more than 
half dead. As we passed through the antechamber, 
all the doors of which were wide open, a gentleman 
of the name of Bourse, pursued by archers, was run 
through the body with a pike, and fell dead at my 
feet. As if I had been killed by the same stroke, I 
fell, and was caught by M. de Nangay before I 
reached the ground. As soon as I recovered from this 
fainting-fit, I went into my sister's bedchamber, and 
was immediately followed by M. de Mioflano, first 
gentleman to the King my husband, and Armagnac, 
his first valet de chamhre, who both came to beg me 
to save their lives. I went and threw myself on my 
knees before the King and the Queen my mother, and 
obtained the lives of both of them. 

Five or six days afterwards, those who were en- 
gaged in this plot, considering that it was incomplete 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 43 

whilst the King my husband and the Prince de Conde 
remained ahve, as their design was not only to dis- 
pose of the Huguenots, but of the Princes of the blood 
likewise; and knowing that no attempt could be made 
on my husband whilst I continued, to be his wife, de- 
vised a scheme which they suggested to the Queen 
my mother for divorcing me from him. Accordingly, 
one holiday, when I waited upon her to chapel, she 
charged me to declare to her, upon my oath, whether 
I believed my husband to be like other men. " Be- 
cause," said she, *' if he is not, I can easily procure 
you a divorce from him." I begged her to believe 
that I was not sufficiently competent to answer such 
a question, and could only reply, as the Roman lady 
did to her husband, when he chid her for not inform- 
ing him of his stinking breath, that, never having 
approached any other man near enough to know a 
difference, she thought all men had been alike in that 
respect. " But," said I, " Madame, since you have 
put the question to me, I can only declare I am con- 
tent to remain as I am;" and this I said because I 
suspected the design of separating me from my hus- 
band was in order to work some mischief against him. 



LETTER VI 

WE accompanied the King of Poland as far 
as Beaumont. For some months before he 
quitted France, he had used every endeav- 
our to efface from my mind the ill offices he had so 
ungratefully done me. He solicited to obtain the same 
place in my esteem which he held during our in- 
fancy; and, on taking leave of me, made me con- 
firm it by oaths and promises. His departure from 
France, and King Charles's sickness, which happened 
just about the same time, excited the spirit of the two 
factions into which the kingdom was divided, to form 
a variety of plots. The Huguenots, on the death of 
the Admiral, had obtained from the King my hus- 
band, and my brother Alengon, a written obligation 
to avenge it. Before St. Bartholomew's Day, they 
had gained my brother over to their party, by the 
hope of securing Flanders for him. They now per- 
suaded my husband and him to leave the King and 
Queen on their return, and pass into Champagne, 
there to join some troops which were in waiting to 
receive them. 

M. de Miossans, a Catholic gentleman, having re- 
ceived an intimation of this design, considered it so 
prejudicial to the interests of the King his master, 
that he communicated it to me with the intention of 
frustrating a plot of so much danger to themselves 
and to the State. I went immediately to the King 
and the Queen my mother, and informed them that 
I had a matter of the utmost importance to lay before 

44 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 45 

them; but that I could not declare it unless they 
would be pleased to promise me that no harm should 
ensue from it to such as I should name to them, 
and that they would put a stop to what was going 
forward without publishing their knowledge of it. 
Having obtained my request, I told them that my 
brother Alengon and the King my husband had an 
intention, on the very next day, of joining some Hu- 
guenot troops, which expected them, in order to fulfil 
the engagement they had made upon the Admiral's 
death; and for this their intention, I begged they 
might be excused, and that they might be prevented 
from going away without any discovery being made 
that their designs had been found out. All this was 
granted me, and measures were so prudently taken 
to stay them, that they had not the least suspicion 
that their intended evasion was known. Soon after, 
we arrived at St. Germain, where we stayed some 
time, on account of the King's indisposition. All this 
while my brother Alengon used every means he could 
devise to ingratiate himself with me, until at last I 
promised him my friendship, as I had before done 
to my brother the Kjng of Poland. As he had been 
brought up at a distance from Court, we had hitherto 
known very little of each other, and kept ourselves 
at a distance. Now that he had made the first ad- 
vances, in so respectful and affectionate a manner, I 
resolved to receive him into a firm friendship, and to 
interest myself in whatever concerned him, without 
prejudice, however, to the interests of my good brother 
King Charles, whom I loved more than any one be- 
sides, and who continued to entertain a great regard 
for me, of which he gave me proofs as long as he 
lived. 

Meanwhile King Charles was daily growing worse, 
and the Huguenots constantly forming new plots. 



46 THE MEMOIRS OF 

They were very desirous to get my brother the Due 
d'Alengon and the King my husband away from 
Court. I got intelHgence, from time to time, of their 
designs; and, providentially, the Queen my mother de- 
feated their intentions when a day had been fixed on 
for the arrival of the Huguenot troops at St. Germain. 
To avoid this visit, we set ofif the night before for 
Paris, two hours after midnight, putting King Charles 
in a litter, and the Queen my mother taking my brother 
and the King my husband with her in her own 
carriage. 

They did not experience on this occasion such mild 
treatment as they had hitherto done, for the King 
going to the Wood of Vincennes, they were not per- 
mitted to set foot out of the palace. This misunder- 
standing was so far from being mitigated by time, 
that the mistrust and discontent were continually 
increasing, owing to the insinuations and bad advice 
offered to the King by those who wished the ruin and 
downfall of our house. To such a height had these 
jealousies risen that the Marechaux de Montmorency 
and de Cosse were put under a close arrest, and La 
Mole and the Comte de Donas executed. Matters 
were now arrived at such a pitch that commissioners 
were appointed from the Court of Parliament to hear 
and determine upon the case of my brother and the 
'King my husband. 

My husband, having no counsellor to assist him, 
desired me to draw up his defence in such a manner 
that he might not implicate any person, and, at the 
same time, clear my brother and himself from any 
criminality of conduct. With God's help I accom- 
plished this task to his great satisfaction, and to the 
surprise of the commissioners, who did not expect to 
find them so well prepared to justify themselves. 

As it was apprehended, after the death of La Mole 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 47 

and the Comte de Donas, that their Hves were likewise 
in danger, I had resolved to save them at the hazard 
of my own ruin with the King, whose favour I en- 
tirely enjoyed at that time. I was suffered to pass to 
and from them in my coach, with my women, who 
were not even required by the guard to unmask, nor 
was my coach ever searched. This being the case, I 
had intended to convey away one of them disguised 
in a female habit. But the difficulty lay in settling be- 
twixt themselves which should remain behind in 
prison, they being closely watched by their guards, and 
the escape of one bringing the other's life into hazard. 
Thus they could never agree upon the point, each of 
them wishing to be the person I should deliver from 
confinement. 

But Providence put a period to their imprisonment 
by a means which proved very unfortunate for me. 
This was no other than the death of King Charles, 
who was the only stay and support of my life, — a 
brother from whose hands I never received anything 
but good; who, during the persecution I underwent at 
Angers, through my brother Anjou, assisted me with 
all his advice and credit. In a word, when I lost King 
Charles, I lost everything. 



LETTER VII 

A FTER this fatal event, which was as unfortunate 
l\ for France as for me, we went to Lyons to 
■^ -^ give the meeting to the King of Poland, now 
Henri IIL of France. The new King was as much 
governed by Le Guast as ever, and had left this in- 
triguing, mischievous man behind in France to keep 
his party together. Through this man's insinuations 
he had conceived the most confirmed jealousy of my 
brother Alencon. He suspected that I was the bond 
that connected the King my husband and my brother, 
and that, to dissolve their union, it would be necessary 
to create a coolness between me and my husband, and 
to work up a quarrel of rivalship betwixt them both 
by means of Madame de Sauves, whom they both vis- 
ited. This abominable plot, which proved the source 
of so much disquietude and unhappiness, as well to 
my brother as myself, was as artfully conducted as it 
was wickedly designed. 

Many have held that God has great personages 
more immediately under his protection, and that 
minds of superior excellence have bestowed on them 
a good genius, or secret intelligencer, to apprise them 
of good, or warn them against evil. Of this number 
I might reckon the Queen my mother, who has had 
frequent intimations of the kind; particularly the 
very night before the tournament which proved so 
fatal to the King my father, she dreamed that she 
saw him wounded in the eye, as it really happened; 
upon which she awoke, and begged him not to run a 

48 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 49 

course that day, but content himself with looking on. 
Fate preventied the nation from enjoying so much 
happiness as it would have done had he followed her 
advice. Whenever she lost a child, she beheld a bright 
flame shining before her, and would immediately cry 
out, " God save my children ! " well knowing it was 
the harbinger of the death of some one of them, which 
melancholy news was sure to be confirmed very shortly 
after. During her very dangerous illness at Metz, 
where she caught a pestilential fever, either from the 
coal fires, or by visiting some of the nunneries which 
had been infected, and from which she was restored to 
health and to the kingdom through the great skill 
and experience of that modern .^sculapius, M. de 
Castillan her physician — I say, during that illness, her 
bed being surrounded by my brother King Charles, 
my brother and sister Lorraine, several members of 
the Council, besides many ladies and princesses, not 
choosing to quit her, though without hopes of her 
life, she was heard to cry out, as if she saw the 
battle of Jarnac: *' There! see how they flee! My 
son, follow them to victory! Ah, my son falls! O 
my God, save him! See there! the Prince de Conde 
is dead ! " All who were present looked upon these 
words as proceeding from her delirium, as she knew 
that my brother Anjou was on the point of giving 
battle, and thought no more of it. On the night 
following, M. de Losses brought the news of the bat- 
tle; and, it being supposed that she would be pleased 
to hear of it, she was awakened, at which she ap- 
peared to be angry, saying : " Did I not know it 
yesterday ? " It was then that those about her 
recollected what I have now related, and concluded 
that it was no delirium, but one of those revelations 
made by God to great and illustrious persons. Ancient 
history furnishes many examples of the like kind 



so THE MEMOIRS OF 

amongst the pagans, as the apparition of Brutus and 
many others, which I shall not mention, it not being 
my intention to illustrate these Memoirs with such 
narratives, but only to relate the truth, and that with 
as much expedition as I am able, that you may be 
the sooner in possession of my story. 

I am far from supposing that I am worthy of these 
divine admonitions; nevertheless, I should accuse my- 
self of ingratitude towards my God for the benefits 
I have received, which I esteem myself obliged to ac- 
knowledge whilst I live; and I further believe myself 
bound to bear testimony of his goodness and power, 
and the mercies he hath shown me, so that I can 
declare no extraordinary accident ever befell me, 
whether fortunate or otherwise, but I received some 
warning of it, either by dream or in some other way, 
so that I may say with the poet — 

"De mon bien, ou mon mal, 
Mon esprit m'est oracle." 

(Whate'er of good or ill befell, 
My mind was oracle to tell.) 

And of this I had a convincing proof on the arrival 
of the King of Poland, when the Queen my mother 
went to meet him. Amidst the embraces and com- 
pliments of welcome in that warm season, crowded 
as we were together and stifling with heat, I found a 
universal shivering come over me, which was plainly 
perceived by those near me. It was with difficulty 
I could conceal what I felt when the King, having 
saluted the Queen my mother, came forward to salute 
me. This secret intimation of what was to happen 
thereafter made a strong impression on my mind at 
the moment, and I thought of it shortly after, when 
I discovered that the King had conceived a hatred of 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 51 

me through the maHcious suggestions of Le Guast, 
who had made him beheve, since the King's death, 
that I espoused my brother Alengon's party during 
his absence, and cemented a friendship betwixt the 
King my husband and him. 



LETTER VIII 

A N opportunity was diligently sought by my ene- 
l\ mies to effect their design of bringing about a 
■^ -^ misunderstanding betwixt my brother Alengon, 
the King my husband, and me, by creating a jealousy 
of me in my husband, and in my brother and hus- 
band, on account of their mutual love for Madame de 
Sauves. 

One afternoon, the Queen my mother having retired 
to her closet to finish some despatches which were 
likely to detain her there for some time, Madame de 
Nevers, your kinswoman, Madame de Rais, another 
of your relations, Bourdeille, and Surgeres asked me 
whether I would not wish to see a little of the city. 
Whereupon Mademoiselle de Montigny, the niece of 
Madame Usez, observing to us that the Abbey of 
St. Pierre was a beautiful convent, we all resolved 
to visit it. She then begged to go with us, as she 
said she had an aunt in that convent, and as it was 
not easy to gain admission into it, except in the com- 
pany of persons of distinction. Accordingly, she went 
with us; and there being six of us, the carriage was 
crowded. Over and above those I have mentioned, 
there was Madame de Curton, the lady of my bed- 
chamber, who always attended me. Liancourt, first 
esquire to the King, and Camille placed themselves 
on the steps of Torigni's carriage, supporting them- 
selves as well as they were able, making themselves 
merry on the occasion, and saying they would go and 
see the handsome nuns, too. I look upon it as ordered 
by Divine Providence that I should have Mademoiselle 

52 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 53 

de Montigny with me, who was not well acquainted 
with any lady of the company, and that the two 
gentlemen just mentioned, who were in the confidence 
of King Henri, should likewise be of the party, as 
they were able to clear me of the calumny intended 
to be fixed upon me. 

Whilst we were viewing the convent, my carriage 
waited for us in the square. In the square many gen- 
tlemen belonging to the Court had their lodgings. 
My carriage was easily to be distinguished, as it was 
gilt and lined with yellow velvet trimmed with silver. 
We had not come out of the convent when the King 
passed through the square on his way to see Quelus, 
who was then sick. He had with him the King my 
husband, D'O , and the fat fellow Ruffe. 

The King, observing no one in my carriage, turned 
to my husband and said : " There is your wife's coach, 
and that is the house where Bide lodges. Bide is 
sick, and I will engage my word she is gone upon a 
visit to him. Go," said he to Ruffe, " and see whether 
she is not there." In saying this, the King addressed 
himself to a proper tool for his malicious purpose, for 
this fellow Ruffe was entirely devoted to Le Guast. 
I need not tell you he did not find me there; how- 
ever, knowing the King's intention, he, to favour it, 
said loud enough for the King my husband to hear 
him : " The birds have been there, but they are now 
flown." This furnished sufficient matter for conver- 
sation until they reached home. 

Upon this occasion, the King my husband displayed 
all the good sense and generosity of temper for which 
he is remarkable. He saw through the design, and 
he despised the maliciousness of it. The King my 
brother was anxious to see the Queen my mother 
before me, to whom he imparted the pretended dis- 
covery, and she, whether to please a son on whom she 



54 THE MEMOIRS OF 

doted, or whether she really gave credit to the story, 
had related it to some ladies with much seeming 
anger. 

Soon afterwards I returned with the ladies who 
had accompanied me to St. Pierre's, entirely igno- 
rant of what had happened. I found the King my 
husband in our apartments, who began to laugh on 
seeing me, and said: "Go immediately to the Queen 
your mother, but I promise you you will not return 
very well pleased." I asked him the reason, and 
what had happened. He answered : " I shall tell you 
nothing; but be assured of this, that I do not give the 
least credit to the story, which I plainly perceive to 
be fabricated in order to stir up a difference betwixt 
us two, and break off the friendly intercourse between 
your brother and me." 

Finding I could get no further information on the 
subject from him, I went to the apartment of the 
Queen my mother. I met M. de Guise in the ante- 
chamber, who was not displeased at the prospect of a 
dissension in our family, hoping that he might make 
some advantage of it. He addressed me in these 
words : " I waited here expecting to see you, in order 
to inform you that some ill office has been done you 
with the Queen." He then told me the story he had 

learned of D'O , who, being intimate with your 

kinswoman, had informed M. de Guise of it, that he 
might apprise us. 

I went into the Queen's bedchamber, but did not 
find my mother there. However, I saw Madame 
de Nemours, the rest of the princesses, and other 
ladies, who all exclaimed on seeing me : " Good 
God! the Queen your mother is in such a rage; we 
would advise you, for the present, to keep out of her 
sight.'' 

'' Yes," said I, " so I would, had I been guilty of 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 55 

what the King has reported; but I assure you all I 
am entirely innocent, and must therefore speak with 
her and clear myself." 

I then went into her closet, which was separated 
from the bedchamber by a slight partition only, so 
that our whole conversation could be distinctly heard. 
She no sooner set eyes upon me than she flew into a 
great passion, and said everything that the fury of 
her resentment suggested. I related to her the whole 
truth, and begged to refer her to the company which 
attended me, to the number of ten or twelve persons, 
desiring her not to rely on the testimony of those more 
immediately about me,' but examine Mademoiselle 
Montigny, who did not belong to me, and Liancourt 
and Camille, who were the King's servants. 

She would not hear a word I had to offer, but con- 
tinued to rate me in a furious manner; whether it 
was through fear, or affection for her son, or whether 
she believed the story in earnest, I know not. When 
I observed to her that I understood the King had 
done me this ill office in her opinion, her anger 
was redoubled, and she endeavoured to make me be- 
lieve that she had been informed of the circumstance 
by one of her own valets de chamhre, who had him- 
self seen me at the place. Perceiving that I gave no 
credit to this account of the matter, she became more 
and more incensed against me. 

All that was said was perfectly heard by those in 
the next room. At length I left her closet, much 
chagrined; and returning to my own apartments, I 
found the King my husband there, who said to me: 
" Well, was it not as I told you ? " 

He, seeing me under great concern, desired me not 
to grieve about it, adding that " Liancourt and Camille 
would attend the King that night in his bedchamber, 
and relate the affair as it really was; and to-morrow," 



S6 THE MEMOIRS OF 

continued he, " the Queen your mother will receive 
you in a very different manner." 

'' But, monsieur," I replied, " I have received too 
gross an affront in public to forgive those who were 
the occasion of it; but that is nothing when compared 
with the malicious intention of causing so heavy a mis- 
fortune to befall me as to create a variance betwixt 
you and me." 

" But," said he, *' God be thanked, they have failed 
in it." 

" For that," answered I, " I am the more beholden 
to God and your amiable disposition. However," con- 
tinued I, " we may derive this good from it, that it 
ought to be a warning to us to put ourselves upon our 
guard against the King's stratagems to bring about 
a disunion betwixt you and my brother, by causing a 
rupture betwixt you and me." 

Whilst I was saying this, my brother entered the 
apartment, and I made them renew their protestations 
of friendship. But what oaths or promises can pre- 
vail against love! This will appear more fully in the 
sequel of my story. 

An Italian banker, who had concerns with my 
brother, came to him the next morning, and invited 
him, the King my husband, myself, the princesses, 
and other ladies, to partake of an entertainment in 
a garden belonging to him. Having made it a con- 
stant rule, before and after I married, as long as I 
remained in the Court of the Queen my mother, to 
go to no place without her permission, I waited on 
her, at her return from mass, and asked leave to be 
present at this banquet. She refused to give any leave, 
and said she did not care where I went. I leave you 
to judge, who know my temper, whether I was not 
greatly mortified at this rebuff. 

Whilst we were enjoying this entertainment, the 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 57 

King, having spoken with Liancourt, Camille, and 
Mademoiselle Montigny, was apprised of the mis- 
take which the malice or misapprehension of Ruffe 
had led him into. Accordingly, he went to the Queen 
my mother and related the whole truth, entreating her 
to remove any ill impressions that might remain with 
me, as he perceived that I was not deficient in point 
of understanding, and feared that I might be induced 
to engage in some plan of revenge. 

When I returned from the banquet before men- 
tioned, I found that what the King my husband 
had foretold was come to pass; for the Queen my 
mother sent for me into her back closet, which was 
adjoining the King's, and told me that she was now 
acquainted with the truth^ and found I had not de- 
ceived her with a false story. She had discovered, she 
said, that there was not the least foundation for the 
report her valet de chambre had made^ and should 
dismiss him from her service as a bad man. As she 
perceived by my looks that I saw through this dis- 
guise, she said everything she could think of to per- 
suade me to a belief that the King had not mentioned 
it to her. She continued her arguments, and I still 
appeared incredulous. At length the King entered 
the closet, and made many apologies, declaring he 
had been imposed on, and assuring me of his most 
cordial friendship and esteem; and thus matters were 
set to rights again. 



LETTER IX 

A FTER staying some time at Lyons, we went to 
ZjL Avignon. Le Guast, not daring to hazard any 
•^ -^ fresh imposture, and finding that my conduct 
afforded no ground for jealousy on the part of my 
husband, plainly perceived that he could not, by that 
means, bring about a misunderstanding betwixt my 
brother and the King my husband. He therefore re- 
solved to try what he could effect through Madame de 
Sauves. In order to do this, he obtained such an in- 
fluence over her that she acted entirely as he directed; 
insomuch that, by his artful instructions, the passion 
which these young men had conceived, hitherto wav- 
ering and cold, as is generally the case at their time 
of life, became of a sudden so violent that ambition 
and every obligation of duty were at once absorbed 
by their attentions to this woman. 

This occasioned such a jealousy betwixt them that, 
though her favours were divided with M. de Guise, 
Le Guast, De Souvray, and others, any one of whom 
she preferred to the brothers-in-law, such was the in- 
fatuation of these last, that each considered the other 
as his only rival. 

To carry on De Guast's sinister designs, this 
woman persuaded the King my husband that I was 
jealous of her, and on that account it was that I 
joined with my brother. As we are ready to give ear 
and credit to those we love, he believed all she said. 
From this time he became distant and reserved 
towards me, shunning my presence as much as pos- 
sible; whereas, before, he was open and communi- 

58 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS '59 

cative to me as to a sister, well knowing that I yielded 
to his pleasure in all things, and was far from 
harbouring jealousy of any kind. 

What I had dreaded, I now perceived had come to 
pass. This was the loss of his favour and good 
opinion; to preserve which I had studied to gain his 
confidence by a ready compliance with his wishes, 
well knowing that mistrust is the sure forerunner of 
hatred. 

I now turned my mind to an endeavour to wean 
my brother's affection from Madame de Sauves, in 
order to counterplot Le Guast in his design to bring 
about a division, and thereby to effect our ruin. I 
used every means with my brother to divert his 
passion; but the fascination was too strong, and my 
pains proved ineffectual. In anything else, my brother 
would have suffered himself to be ruled by me; but 
the charms of this Circe, aided by that sorcerer, Le 
Guast, were too powerful to be dissolved by my advice. 
So far was he from profiting by my counsel that he 
was weak enough to communicate it to her. So blind 
are lovers! 

Her vengeance was excited by this communication, 
and she now entered more fully into the designs of 
Le Guast. In consequence, she used all her art to 
make the King my husband conceive an aversion for 
me; insomuch that he scarcely ever spoke with me. 
He left her late at night, and, to prevent our meeting 
in the morning, she directed him to come to her at 
the Queen's levee, which she duly attended; after 
which he passed the rest of the day with her. My 
brother likewise followed her with the greatest assidu- 
ity, and she had the artifice to make each of them 
think that he alone had any place in her esteem. 
Thus was a jealousy kept up betwixt them, and, in 
consequence, disunion and mutual ruin! 



6o THE MEMOIRS OF 

We made a considerable stay at Avignon, whence 
we proceeded through Burgundy and Champagne to 
Rheims, where the King's marriage was celebrated. 
From Rheims we came to Paris, things going on in 
their usual train, and Le Guast prosecuting his de- 
signs with all the success he could wish. At Paris my 
brother was joined by Bussi, whom he received with 
all the favour which his bravery merited. He was 
inseparable from my brother, in consequence of which 
I frequently saw him, for my brother and I were 
always together, his household being equally at my 
devotion as if it were my own. Your aunt, remark- 
ing this harmony betwixt us, has often told me that 
it called to her recollection the times of my uncle, 
M. d'Orleans, and my aunt, Madame de Savoie. 

Le Guast thought this a favourable circumstance 
to complete his design. Accordingly, he suggested to 
Madame de Sauves to make my husband believe that 
it was on account of Bussi that I frequented my 
brother's apartments so constantly. 

The King my husband, being fully informed of all 
my proceedings from persons in his service who 
attended me everywhere, could not be induced to lend 
an ear to this story. Le Guast, finding himself foiled 
in this quarter, applied to the King, who was well 
inclined to listen to the tale, on account of his dislike 
to my brother and me, whose friendship for each other 
was unpleasing to him. 

Besides this, he was incensed against Bussi, who, 
being formerly attached to him, had now devoted him- 
self wholly to my brother, — an acquisition which, on 
account of the celebrity of Bussi's fame for parts and 
valour, redounded greatly to my brother's honour, 
whilst it increased the malice and envy of his enemies. 

The King, thus worked upon by Le Guast, men- 
tioned it to the Queen my mother, thinking it would 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 6i 

have the same effect on her as the tale which was 
trumped up at Lyons. But she, seeing through the 
whole design, showed him the improbability of the 
story, adding that he must have some wicked people 
about him, who could put such notions in his head, 
observing that I was very unfortunate to have fallen 
upon such evil times. " In my younger days," said 
she, " we were allowed to converse freely with all the 
gentlemen who belonged to the King our father, 
the Dauphin, and M. d' Orleans, your uncles. It was 
common for them to assemble in the bedchamber of 
Madame Marguerite, your aunt, as well as in mine, 
and nothing was thought of it. Neither ought it to 
appear strange that Bussi sees my daughter in the 
presence of her husband's servants. They are not 
shut up together. Bussi is a person of quality, and 
holds the first place in your brother's family. What 
grounds are there for such a calumny? At Lyons 
you caused me to offer her an affront, which I fear 
she will never forget." 

The King was astonished to hear his mother talk 
in this manner, and interrupted her with saying: 
" Madame, I only relate what I have heard." 

" But who is it," answered she, " that tells you all 
this? I fear no one that intends you any good, but 
rather one that wishes to create divisions amongst 
you all." 

As soon as the King had left her she told me all 
that had passed, and said : " You are unfortunate to 
live in these times." Then calling your aunt, Madame 
de Dampierre, they entered into a discourse concern- 
ing the pleasures and innocent freedoms of the times 
they had seen, when scandal and malevolence were 
unknown at Court. 

Le Guast, finding this plot miscarry, was not long 
in contriving another. He addressed himself for this 



62 THE MEMOIRS OF 

purpose to certain gentlemen who attended the King 
my husband. These had been formerly the friends 
of Bussi, but, envying the glory he had obtained, 
were now become his enemies. Under the mask of 
zeal for their master, they disguised the envy which 
they harboured in their breasts. They entered into a 
design of assassinating Bussi as he left my brother to 
go to his own lodgings, which was generally at a late 
hour. They knew that he was always accompanied 
home by fifteen or sixteen gentlemen, belonging to 
my brother, and that, notwithstanding he wore no 
sword, having been lately wounded in the right arm, 
his presence was sufficient to inspire the rest with 
courage. 

In order, therefore, to make sure work, they re- 
solved on attacking him with two or three hundred 
men, thinking that night would throw a veil over the 
disgrace of such an assassination. 

Le Guast, who commanded a regiment of guards, 
furnished the requisite number of men, whom he dis- 
posed in five or six divisions^ in the street through 
which he was to pass. Their orders were to put out 
the torches and flambeaux, and then to fire their pieces, 
after which they were to charge his company, observ- 
ing particularly to attack one who had his right arm 
slung in a scarf. 

Fortunately they escaped the intended massacre, 
and, fighting their way through, reached Bussi' s lodg- 
ings, one gentleman only being killed, who was par- 
ticularly attached to M. de Bussi, and who was 
probably mistaken for him, as he had his arm likewise 
slung in a scarf. 

An Italian gentleman, who belonged to my brother, 
left them at the beginning of the attack, and came 
running back to the Louvre. As soon as he reached 
my brother's chamber door, he cried out aloud: 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 63 

" Bussi is assassinated ! " My brother was going out, 
but I, hearing the cry of assassination, left my cham- 
ber, by good fortune not being undressed, and stopped 
my brother. I then sent for the Queen my mother to 
come with all haste in order to prevent him from go- 
ing out, as he was resolved to do, regardless of what 
might happen. It was with difficulty we could stay 
him, though the Queen my mother represented the 
hazard he ran from the darkness of the night, and 
his ignorance of the nature of the attack, which might 
have been purposely designed by Le Guast to take 
away his life. Her entreaties and persuasions would 
have been of little avail if she had not used her au- 
thority to order all the doors to be barred, and taken 
the resolution of remaining where she was until she 
had learned what had really happened. 

Bussi, whom God had thus miraculously preserved, 
with that presence of mind which he was so remark- 
able for in time of battle and the most imminent dan- 
ger, considering within himself when he reached home 
the anxiety of his master's mind should he have re- 
ceived any false report, and fearing he might expose 
himself to hazard upon the first alarm being given 
(which certainly would have been the case, if my 
mother had not interfered and prevented it), immedi- 
ately despatched one of his people to let him know 
every circumstance. 

The next day Bussi showed himself at the Louvre 
without the least dread of enemies, as if what had 
happened had been merely the attack of a tourna- 
ment. My brother exhibited much pleasure at the 
sight of Bussi, but expressed great resentment at such 
a daring attempt to deprive him of so brave and valu- 
able a servant, a man whom Le Guast durst not attack 
in any other way than by a base assassination. 



LETTER X 

THE Queen my mother, a woman endowed with 
the greatest prudence and foresight of any one 
I ever knew, apprehensive of evil consequences 
from this affair, and fearing a dissension betwixt her 
two sons, advised my brother to fall upon some pre- 
tence for sending Bussi away from Court. In this 
advice I joined her, and through our united counsel 
and request, my brother was prevailed upon to give 
his consent. I had every reason to suppose that Le 
Guast would take advantage of the rencounter to fo- 
ment the coolness which already existed betwixt my 
brother and the King my husband into an open rup- 
ture. Bussi, who implicitly followed my brother's 
directions in everything, departed with a company of 
the bravest noblemen that were about the latter's 
person. 

Bussi was now removed from the machinations of 
Le Guast, who likewise failed in accomplishing a 
design he had long projected, — to disunite the King 
my husband and me. 

One night my husband was attacked with a fit, and 
continued insensible for the space of an hour, — occa- 
sioned, I supposed, by his excesses with women, for I 
never knew anything of the kind to happen to him 
before. However, as it was my duty so to do, I 
attended him with so much care and assiduity that, 
when he recovered, he spoke of it to every one, declar- 
ing that, if I had not perceived his indisposition and 
called for the help of my women, he should not have 
survived the fit. 

64 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 65 

From this time he treated me with more kindness, 
and the cordiaHty betwixt my brother and him was 
again revived, as if I had been the point of union at 
which they were to meet, or the cement that joined 
them together. 

Le Guast was now at his wit's end for some fresh 
contrivance to breed disunion in the Court. 

He had lately persuaded the King to remove from 
about the person of the Queen-consort, a princess of 
the greatest virtue and most amiable qualities, a 
female attendant of the name of Changi, for whom the 
Queen entertained a particular esteem, as having been 
brought up with her. Being successful in this meas- 
ure, he now thought of making the King my husband 
send away Torigni, whom I greatly regarded. 

The argument he used with the King was, that 
young princesses ought to have no favourites about 
them. 

The King, yielding to this man's persuasions, spoke 
of it to my husband, who observed that it would be a 
matter that would greatly distress me; that if I had 
an esteem for Torigni it was not without cause, as she 
had been brought up with the Queen of Spain and 
me from our infancy; that, moreover, Torigni was a 
young lady of good understanding, and had been of 
great use to him during his confinement at Vincennes; 
that it would be the greatest ingratitude in him to 
overlook services of such a nature, and that he remem- 
bered well when his Majesty had expressed the same 
sentiments. 

Thus did he defend himself against the performance 
of so ungrateful an action. However, the King lis- 
tened only to the arguments of Le Guast, and told 
my husband that he should have no more love for 
him if he did not remove Torigni from about me the 
yery next morning. 



66 THE MEMOIRS OF 

He was forced to comply, greatly contrary to his 
will, and, as he has since declared to me, with much 
regret. Joining entreaties to commands, he laid his 
injunctions on me accordingly. 

How displeasing this separation was I plainly dis- 
covered by the many tears I shed on receiving his 
orders. It was in vain to represent to him the injury 
done to my character by the sudden removal of one 
who had been with me from my earliest years, and 
was so greatly in my esteem and confidence; he could 
not give an ear to my reasons, being firmly bound by 
the promise he had made to the King. 

Accordingly, Torigni left me that very day, and 
went to the house of a relation, M. Chastelas. I was 
so greatly offended with this fresh indignity, after so 
many of the kind formerly received, that I could not 
help yielding to resentment; and my grief and con- 
cern getting the upper hand of my prudence, I ex- 
hibited a great coolness and indifference towards my 
husband. Le Guast and Madame de Sauves were 
successful in creating a like indifference on his part, 
which, coinciding with mine, separated us altogether, 
and we neither spoke to each other nor slept in the 
same bed. 

A few days after this, some faithful servants about 
the person of the King my husband remarked to him 
the plot which had been concerted with so much arti- 
fice to lead him to his ruin, by creating a division, 
first betwixt him and my brother, and next betwixt 
him and me, thereby separating him from those in 
whom only he could hope for his principal support. 
They observed to him that already matters were 
brought to such a pass that the King showed little 
regard for him, and even appeared to despise him. 

They afterwards addressed themselves to my 
brother, whose situation was not in the least mended 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 67 

since the departure of Bussi, Le Guast causing fresh 
indignities to be offered him daily. They represented 
to him that the King my husband and he were both 
circumstanced ahke, and equally in disgrace, as Le 
Guast had everything under his direction; so that 
both of them were under the necessity of soliciting, 
through him, any favours which they might want 
of the King, and which, when demanded, were con- 
stantly refused them with great contempt. Moreover, 
it was become dangerous to offer them service, as it 
was inevitable ruin for any one to do so. 

'' Since, then," said they, " your dissensions appear 
to be so likely to prove fatal to both, it would be 
advisable in you both to unite and come to a deter- 
mination of leaving the Court; and, after collecting 
together your friends and servants, to require from 
the King an establishment suitable to your ranks." 
They observed to my brother that he had never yet 
been put in possession of his appanage, and received 
for his subsistence only some certain allowances, which 
were not regularly paid him, as they passed through 
the hands of Le Guast, and were at his disposal, to 
be discharged or kept back, as he judged proper. 
They concluded with observing that, with regard to 
the King my husband, the government of Guyenne 
was taken out of his hands; neither was he permitted 
to visit that or any other of his dominions. 

It was hereupon resolved to pursue the counsel now 
given, and that the King my husband and my brother 
should immediately withdraw themselves from Court. 
My brother made me acquainted with this resolution, 
observing to me, as my husband and he were now 
friends again, that I ought to forget all that had 
passed; that my husband had declared to him that 
he was sorry things had so happened, that we had 
been outwitted by our enemies, but that he was re- 
Memoirs — 3 Vol. 1 



68 THE MEMOIRS OF 

solved, from henceforward, to show me every atten- 
tion and give me every proof of his love and esteem, 
and he concluded with begging me to make my hus- 
band every show of affection, and to be watchful for 
their interest during their absence. 

It was concerted betwixt them that my brother 
should depart first, making off in a carriage in the 
best manner he could; that, in a few days afterwards, 
the King my husband should follow, under pretence 
of going on a hunting party. They both expressed 
their concern that they could not take me with them, 
assuring me that I had no occasion to have any appre- 
hensions, as it would soon appear that they had no 
design to disturb the peace of the kingdom, but 
merely to ensure the safety of their own persons, and 
to settle their establishments. In short, it might well 
be supposed that, in their present situation, they had 
reason to apprehend danger to themselves from such 
as had evil designs against their family. 

Accordingly, as soon as it was dusk and before 
the King's supper-time, my brother changed his cloak, 
and concealing the lower part of his face to his nose 
in it, left the palace, attended by a servant who was 
little known, and went on foot to the gate of St. Ho- 
nore, where he found Simier waiting for him in a 
coach, borrowed of a lady for the purpose. 

My brother threw himself into it, and went to a 
house about a quarter of a league out of Paris, where 
horses were stationed ready; and at the distance of 
about a league farther, he joined a party of two or 
three hundred horsemen of his servants, who were 
awaiting his coming. My brother was not missed till 
nine o'clock, when the King and the Queen my mother 
asked me the reason he did not come to sup with 
them as usual, and if I knew of his being indisposed. 
I told them I had not seen him since noon. There- 



fli 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 69 

upon they sent to his apartments. Word was brought 
back that he was not there. Orders were then given 
to inquire at the apartments of the ladies whom he 
was accustomed to visit. He was nowhere to be 
found. There was now a general alarm. The King 
flew into a great passion, and began to threaten me. 
He then sent for all the Princes and the great officers 
of the Court; and giving orders for a pursuit to be 
made, and to bring him back, dead or alive, cried out : 
*' He is gone to make war against me ; but I will 
show him what it is to contend with a king of my 
power." 

Many of the Princes and officers of State remon- 
strated against these orders, which they observed 
ought to be well weighed. They said that, as their 
duty directed, they were willing to venture their lives 
in the King's service; but to act against his brother 
they were certain would not be pleasing to the King 
himself; that they were well convinced his brother 
would undertake nothing that should give his Majesty 
displeasure, or be productive of danger to the realm; 
that perhaps his leaving the Court was owing to some 
disgust, which it would be more advisable to send 
and inquire into. Others, on the contrary, were for 
putting the King's orders into execution; but, what- 
ever expedition they could use, it was day before 
they set off; and as it was then too late to overtake 
my brother, they returned, being only equipped for 
the pursuit. 

I was in tears the whole night of my brother's de- 
parture, and the next day was seized with a violent 
cold, which was succeeded by a fever that confined 
me to my bed. 

Meanwhile my husband was preparing for his de- 
parture, which took up all the time he could spare 
from his visits to Madame de Sauves; so that he 



70 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

did not think of me. He returned as usual at two 
or three in the morning, and, as we had separate 
beds, I seldom heard him; and in the morning, be- 
fore I was awake, he went to my mother's levee, 
where he met Madame de Sauves, as usual. 

This being the case, he quite forgot his promise to 
my brother of speaking to me; and when he went 
away, it was without taking leave of me. 

The King did not show my husband more favour 
after my brother's evasion, but continued to behave 
with his former coolness. This the more confirmed 
him in the resolution of leaving the Court, so that 
in a few days, under the pretence of hunting, he went 
away. 



LETTER XI 

THE King, supposing that I was a principal in- 
strument in aiding the Princes in their deser- 
tion, was greatly incensed against me, and his 
rage became at length so violent that, had not the 
Queen my mother moderated it, I am inclined to think 
my life had been in danger. Giving way to her coun- 
sel, he became more calm, but insisted upon a guard 
being placed over me, that I might not follow the King 
my husband, neither have communication with any 
one, so as to give the Princes intelligence of what 
was going on at Court. The Queen my mother gave 
her consent to this measure, as being the least violent, 
and was well pleased to find his anger cooled in so 
great a degree. She, however, requested that she 
might be permitted to discourse with me, in order 
to reconcile me to a submission to treatment of so 
different a kind from what I had hitherto known. At 
the same time she advised the King to consider that 
these troubles might not be lasting; that everything in 
the world bore a double aspect ; that what now ap- 
peared to him horrible and alarming, might, upon a 
second view, assume a more pleasing and tranquil 
look; that, as things changed, so should measures 
change with them; that there might come a time when 
he might have occasion for my services; that, as pru- 
dence counselled us not to repose too much confidence 
in our friends, lest they should one day become our 
enemies, so was it advisable to conduct ourselves in 
such a manner to our enemies as if we had hopes 

71 



^2 THE MEMOIRS OF 

they should hereafter become our friends. By such 
prudent remonstrances did the Queen my mother re- 
strain the King from proceeding to extremities with 
me, as he would otherwise possibly have done. 

Le Guast now endeavoured to divert his fury to an- 
other object, in order to wound me in a most sensitive 
part. He prevailed on the King to adopt a design for 
seizing Torigni, at the house of her cousin Chastelas, 
and, under pretence of bringing her before the King, 
to drown her in a river which they were to cross. 
The party sent upon this errand was admitted by 
Chastelas, not suspecting any evil design, without the 
least difficulty, into his house. As soon as they had 
gained admission they proceeded to execute the cruel 
business they were sent upon, by fastening Torigni 
with cords and locking her up in a chamber, whilst 
their horses were baiting. Meantime, according to 
the French custom, they crammed themselves, like 
gluttons, with the best eatables the house afforded. 
Chastelas, who was a man of discretion, was not dis- 
pleased to gain time at the expense of some part of 
his substance, considering that the suspension of a 
sentence is a prolongation of life, and that during this 
respite the King's heart might relent, and he might 
countermand his former orders. With these consid- 
erations he was induced to submit, though it was in 
his power to have called for assistance to repel this 
violence. But God, who hath constantly regarded 
my afflictions and afforded me protection against the 
malicious designs of my enemies, was pleased to order 
poor Torigni to be delivered by means which I could 
never have devised had I been acquainted with the 
plot, of which I was totally ignorant. Several of 
the domestics, male as well as female, had left the 
house in a fright, fearing the insolence and rude treat- 
ment of this troop of soldiers, who behaved as riot- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 73 

ously as if they were in a house given up to pillage. 
Some of these, at the distance of a quarter of a league 
from the house, by God's providence, fell in with 
Ferte and Avantigni, at the head of their troops, in 
number about two hundred horse, on their march to 
join my brother. Ferte, remarking a labourer, whom 
he knew to belong to Chastelas, apparently in great 
distress, inquired of him what was the matter, and 
whether he had been ill-used by any of the soldiery. 
The man related to him all he knew, and in what 
state he had left his master's house. Hereupon Ferte 
and Avantigni resolved, out of regard to me, to effect 
Torigni's deliverance, returning thanks to God for 
having afforded them so favourable an opportunity 
of testifying the respect they had always entertained 
towards me. 

Accordingly, they proceeded to the house with all 
expedition, and arrived just at the moment these sol- 
diers were setting Torigni on horseback, for the pur- 
pose of conveying her to the river wherein they had 
orders to plunge her. Galloping into the courtyard, 
sword in hand, they cried out : " Assassins, if you 
dare to offer that lady the least injury, you are dead 
men ! " So saying, they attacked them and drove 
them to flight, leaving their prisoner behind, nearly 
as dead with joy as she was before with fear and ap- 
prehension. After returning thanks to God and her 
deliverers for so opportune and unexpected a rescue, 
she and her cousin Chastelas set off in a carriage, 
under the escort of their rescuers, and joined my 
brother, who, since he could not have me with him, 
was happy to have one so dear to me about him. She 
remained under my brother's protection as long as 
any danger was apprehended, and was treated with as 
much respect as if she had been with me. 

Whilst the King was giving directions for this 



74 THE MEMOIRS OF 

notable expedition, for the purpose of sacrificing 
Torigni to his vengeance, the Queen my mother, 
who had not received the least intimation of it, 
came to my apartment as I was dressing to go 
abroad, in order to observe how I should be received 
after what had passed at Court, having still some 
alarms on account of my husband and brother. I 
had hitherto confined myself to my chamber, not 
having perfectly recovered my health, and, in reality, 
being all the time as much indisposed in mind as in 
body. 

My mother, perceiving my intention, addressed me 
in these words : " My child, you are giving yourself 
unnecessary trouble in dressing to go abroad. Do 
not be alarmed at what I am going to tell you. Your 
own good sense will dictate to you that you ought not 
to be surprised if the King resents the conduct of your 
brother and husband, and as he knows the love and 
friendship that exist between you three, should sup- 
pose that you were privy to their design of leaving the 
Court. He has, for this reason, resolved to detain 
you in it, as a hostage for them. He is sensible how 
much you are beloved by your husband, and thinks he 
can hold no pledge that is more dear to him. On this 
account it is that the King has ordered his guards to 
be placed, with directions not to suffer you to leave 
your apartments. He has done this with the advice 
of his counsellors, by whom it was suggested that, if 
you had your free liberty, you might be induced to 
advise your brother and husband of their delibera- 
tions. I beg you will not be offended with these 
measures, which, if it so please God, may not be of 
long continuance. I beg, moreover, you will not be 
displeased with me if I do not pay you frequent visits, 
as I should be unwilling to create any suspicions in 
the King's mind. However, you may rest assured that 




MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 75 

I shall prevent any further steps from being taken 
that may prove disagreeable to you, and that I shall 
use my utmost endeavours to bring about a reconcilia- 
tion betwixt your brothers." 

I represented to her, in reply, the great indignity 
that was offered to me by putting me under arrest; 
that it was true my brother had all along communi- 
cated to me the just cause he had to be dissatisfied, 
but that, with respect to the King my husband, from 
the time Torigni was taken from me we had not 
spoken to each other; neither had he visited me dur- 
ing my indisposition, nor did he even take leave of me 
when he left Court. " This," says she, *' is nothing at 
all; it is merely a trifling difference betwixt man and 
wife, which a few sweet words, conveyed in a letter, 
will set to rights. When, by such means, he has 
regained your affections, he has only to write to you 
to come to him, and you will set off at the very first 
opportunity. Now, this is what the King my son 
wishes to prevent." 



LETTER XII 

THE Queen my mother left me, saying these 
words. For my part, I remained a close pris- 
oner, without a visit from a single person, none 
of my most intimate friends daring to come near me, 
through the apprehension that such a step might prove 
injurious to their interests. Thus it is ever in Courts. 
Adversity is solitary, while prosperity dwells in a 
crowd; the object of persecution being sure to be 
shunned by his nearest friends and dearest connec- 
tions. The brave Grillon was the only one who ven- 
tured to visit me, at the hazard of incurring disgrace. 
He came five or six times to see me, and my guards 
were so much astonished at his resolution, and awed 
by his presence, that not a single Cerberus of them 
all would venture to refuse him entrance to my 
apartments. 

Meanwhile, the King my husband reached the 
States under his government. Being joined there by 
his friends and dependents, they all represented to him 
the indignity offered to me by his quitting the Court 
without taking leave of me. They observed to him 
that I was a princess of good understanding, and that 
it would be for his interest to regain my esteem; that, 
when matters were put on their former footing, he 
might derive to himself great advantage from my 
presence at Court. Now that he was at a distance 
from his Circe, Madame de Sauves, he could listen to 
good advice. Absence having abated the force of her 
charms, his eyes were opened; he discovered the plots 
and machinations of our enemies, and clearly perceived 
that a rupture could not but tend to the ruin of us both. 

76 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS ^y 

Accordingly, he wrote me a very affectionate letter, 
wherein he entreated me to forget all that had passed 
betwixt us, assuring me that from thenceforth he 
would ever love me, and would give me every dem- 
onstration that he did so, desiring me to inform him 
of what was going on at Court, and how it fared with 
me and my brother. My brother was in Champagne 
and the King my husband in Gascony, and there had 
been no communication betwixt them, though they 
w^ere on terms of friendship. 

I received this letter during my imprisonment, and 
it gave me great comfort under that situation. Al- 
though my guards had strict orders not to permit me 
to set pen to paper, yet, as necessity is said to be the 
mother of invention, I found means to write many 
letters to him. 

Some few days after I had been put under arrest, 
my brother had intelligence of it, which chagrined 
him so much that, had not the love of his country 
prevailed with him, the effects of his resentment 
would have been shown in a cruel civil war^ to which 
purpose he had a sufficient force entirely at his de- 
votion. He was, however, withheld by his patriotism, 
and contented himself with writing to the Queen my 
mother, informing her that, if I was thus treated, he 
should be driven upon some desperate measure. She, 
fearing the consequence of an open rupture, and 
dreading lest, if blows were once struck, she should be 
deprived of the power of bringing about a reconcil- 
iation betwixt the brothers, represented the conse- 
quences to the King, and found him well disposed to 
lend an ear to her reasons, as his anger was now 
cooled by the apprehensions of being attacked in 
Gascony, Dauphiny, Languedoc, and Poitou, with all 
the strength of the Huguenots under the King my 
husband. 



78 THE MEMOIRS OF 

Besides the many strong places held by the Hugue- 
nots, my brother had an army with him in Champagne, 
composed chiefly of nobility, the bravest and best in 
France. The King found, since my brother's de- 
parture, that he could not, either by threats or re- 
wards, induce a single person among the princes and 
great lords to act against him, so much did every one 
fear to intermeddle in this quarrel, which they con- 
sidered as of a family nature; and after having ma- 
turely reflected on his situation, he acquiesced in my 
mother's opinion, and begged her to fall upon some 
means of reconcihation. She thereupon proposed go- 
ing to my brother and taking me with her. To the 
measure of taking me, the King had an objection, as 
he considered me as the hostage for my husband and 
brother. She then agreed to leave me behind, and 
set off without my knowledge of the matter. At 
their interview, my brother represented to the Queen 
my mother that he could not but be greatly dissatis- 
fied with the King after the many mortifications he 
had received at Court; that the cruelty and injustice 
of confining me hurt him equally as if done to him- 
self; observing, moreover, that, as if my arrest were 
not a sufficient mortification, poor Torigni must be 
made to suffer; and concluding with the declaration 
of his firm resolution not to listen to any terms of 
peace until I was restored to my liberty, and repara- 
tion made me for the indignity I had sustained. The 
Queen my mother being unable to obtain any other 
answer, returned to Court and acquainted the King 
with my brother's determination. Her advice was to 
go back again with me, for going without me, she 
said, would answer very little purpose; and if I went 
with her in disgust, it would do more harm than 
good. Besides, there was reason to fear, in that case, I 
should insist upon going to my husband. " In short," 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS . 79 

says she, " my daughter's guard must be removed, 
and she must be satisfied in the best way we can." 

The King agreed to follow her advice, and was 
now, on a sudden, as eager to reconcile matters be- 
twixt us as she was herself. Hereupon I was sent 
for, and when I came to her, she informed me that 
she had paved the way for peace; that it was for the 
good of the State, which she was sensible I must be 
as desirous to promote as my brother; that she had 
it now in her power to make a peace which would be 
as satisfactory as my brother could desire, and would 
put us entirely out of the reach of Le Guast's machi- 
nations, or those of any one else who might have an 
influence over the King's mind. She observed that, 
by assisting her to procure a good understanding be- 
twixt the King and my brother, I should relieve her 
from that cruel disquietude under which she at pres- 
ent laboured, as, should things come to an open 
rupture, she could not but be grieved, whichever 
party prevailed, as they were both her sons. She 
therefore expressed her hopes that I would forget the 
injuries I had received, and dispose myself to concur 
in a peace, rather than join in any plan of revenge. 
She assured me that the King was sorry for what had 
happened; that he had even expressed his regret to 
her with tears in his eyes, and had declared that he 
was ready to give me every satisfaction. I replied 
that I was willing to sacrifice everything for the good 
of my brothers and of the State; that I wished for 
nothing so much as peace, and that I would exert my- 
self to the utmost to bring it about. 

As I uttered these words, the King came into the 
closet, and, with a number of fine speeches, endeav- 
oured to soften my resentment and to recover my 
friendship, to which I made such returns as might 
show him I harboured no ill-will for the injuries I 



8o THE MEMOIRS OF 

had received. I was induced to such behaviour rather 
out of contempt, and because it was good poHcy to let 
the King go away satisfied with me. 

Besides, I had found a secret pleasure, during my 
confinement, from the perusal of good books, to which 
I had given myself up with a dehght I never before 
experienced. I consider this as an obligation I owe 
to fortune, or, rather, to Divine Providence, in order 
to prepare me, by such efficacious means, to bear up 
against the misfortunes and calamities that awaited 
me. By tracing nature in the universal book which 
is opened to all mankind, I was led to the knowledge 
of the Divine Author. Science conducts us, step by 
step, through the whole range of creation, until we ar- 
rive, at length, at God. Misfortune prompts us to 
summon our utmost strength to oppose grief and re- 
cover tranquillity, until at length we find a powerful 
aid in the knowledge and love of God, whilst pros- 
perity hurries us away until we are overwhelmed by 
our passions. My captivity and its consequent soli- 
tude afforded me the double advantage of exciting a 
passion for study, and an inclination for devotion, ad- 
vantages I had never experienced during the vanities 
and splendour of my prosperity. 

As I have already observed, the King, discovering 
in me no signs of discontent, informed me that the 
Queen my mother was going into Champagne to have 
an interview with my brother, in order to bring about 
a peace, and begged me to accompany her thither 
and to use my best endeavours to forward his views, 
as he knew my brother was always well disposed to 
follow my counsel; and he concluded with saying 
that the peace, when accomplished, he should ever 
consider as being due to my good ofiices, and should 
esteem himself obliged to me for it. I promised to 
exert myself in so good a work, which I plainly per- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 8i 

ceived was both for my brother's advantage and the 
benefit of the State. 

The Queen my mother and I set off for Sens the 
next day. The conference was agreed to be held in 
a gentleman's chateau, at a distance of about a league 
from that place. My brother was waiting for us, 
accompanied by a small body of troops and the prin- 
cipal Catholic noblemen and princes of his army. 
Amongst these were the Due Casimir and Colonel 
Poux, who had brought him six thousand German 
horse, raised by the Huguenots, they having joined 
my brother, as the King my husband and he acted 
in conjunction. 

The treaty was continued for several days, the con- 
ditions of peace requiring much discussion, especially 
such articles of it as related to religion. With respect 
to these, when at length agreed upon, they were too 
much to the advantage of the Huguenots, as it ap- 
peared afterwards, to be kept; but the Queen my 
mother gave in to them, in order to have a peace, and 
that the German cavalry before mentioned might be 
disbanded. She was, moreover, desirous to get my 
brother out of the hands of the Huguenots; and he 
was himself as willing to leave them, being always a 
very good Catholic, and joining the Huguenots only 
through necessity. 

One condition of the peace was, that my brother 
should have a suitable establishment. My brother 
likewise stipulated for me, that my marriage portion 
should be assigned in lands, and M. de Beauvais, 
a commissioner on his part, insisted much upon it. 
My mother, however, opposed it, and persuaded me 
to join her in it, assuring me that I should obtain from 
the King all I could require. Thereupon I begged 
I might not be included in the articles of peace, ob- 
serving that I would rather owe whatever I was to 



82 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

receive to the particular favour of the King and the 
Queen my mother, and should, besides, consider it as 
more secure when obtained by such means. 

The peace being thus concluded and ratified on 
both sides, the Queen my mother prepared to return. 
At this instant I received letters from the King my 
husband, in which he expressed a great desire to see 
me, begging me, as soon as peace was agreed on, to 
ask leave to go to him. I communicated my husband's 
wish to the Queen my mother, and added my own 
entreaties. She expressed herself greatly averse to 
such a measure, and used every argument to set me 
against it. She observed that, when I refused her 
proposal of a divorce after St. Bartholomew's Day, 
she gave way to my refusal, and commended me for 
it, because my husband was then converted to the 
Catholic religion; but now that he had abjured 
Catholicism, and was turned Huguenot again, she 
could not give her consent that I should go to him. 
When I still insisted upon going, she burst into a 
flood of tears, and said, if I did not return with her, 
it would prove her ruin; that the King would believe 
it was her doing; that she had promised to bring me 
back with her; and that, when my brother returned 
to Court, which would be soon, she would give her 
consent. 

We now returned to Paris, and found the King well 
satisfied that we had made a peace; though not, how- 
ever, pleased with the articles concluded in favour of 
the Huguenots. He therefore resolved within himself, 
as soon as my brother should return to Court, to find 
some pretext for renewing the war. These advan- 
tageous conditions were, indeed, only granted the 
Huguenots to get my brother out of their hands, who 
was detained near two months, being employed in dis- 
banding his German horse and the rest of his army. 



LETTER XIII 

A T length my brother returned to Court, accom- 
/A panied by all the Catholic nobility who had 
-^ "^ followed his fortunes. The King received him 
very graciously, and showed, by his reception of him, 
how much he was pleased at his return. Bussi, who 
returned with my brother, met likewise with a gra- 
cious reception. Le Guast was now no more, having 
died under the operation of a particular regimen or- 
dered for him by his physician. He had given him- 
self up to every kind of debauchery; and his death 
seemed the judgment of the Almighty on one whose 
body had long been perishing, and whose soul had 
been made over to the prince of demons as the price 
of assistance through the means of diabolical magic, 
which he constantly practised. The King, though now 
without this instrument of his malicious contrivances, 
turned his thoughts entirely upon the destruction of 
the Huguenots. To effect this, he strove to engage 
my brother against them, and thereby make them his 
enemies; and that I might be considered as another 
enemy, he used every means to prevent me from going 
to the King my husband. Accordingly he showed 
every mark of attention to both of us, and manifested 
an inclination to gratify all our wishes. 

After some time, M. de Duras arrived at Court, 
sent by the King my husband to hasten my departure. 
Hereupon, I pressed the King greatly to think well of 
it, and give me his leave. He, to colour his refusal, 
told me he could not part with me at present, as I 

83 



84 THE MEMOIRS OF 

was the chief ornament of his Court; that he must 
keep me a Httle longer, after which he would accom- 
pany me himself on my way as far as Poitiers. With 
this answer and assurance, he sent M. de Duras back. 
These excuses were purposely framed in order to 
gain time until everything was prepared for declar- 
ing war against the Huguenots, and, in consequence, 
against the King my husband, as he fully designed 
to do. 

As a pretence to break with the Huguenots, a report 
was spread abroad that the Catholics were dissatisfied 
with the Peace of Sens, and thought the terms of it 
too advantageous for the Huguenots. This rumour 
succeeded, and produced all that discontent amongst 
the Catholics intended by it. A league was formed 
in the provinces and great cities, which was joined by 
numbers of the Catholics. M. de Guise was named 
as the head of all. This was well known to the 
King, who pretended to be ignorant of what was 
going forward, though nothing else was talked of at 
Court. 

The States were convened to meet at Blois. Pre- 
vious to the opening of this assembly, the King called 
my brother to his closet, where were present the 
Queen my mother and some of the King's counsellors. 
He represented the great consequence the Catholic 
league was to his State and authority, even though 
they should appoint De Guise as the head of it; that 
such a measure was of the highest importance to them 
both, meaning my brother and himself; that the 
Catholics had very just reason to be dissatisfied with 
the peace, and that it behoved him, addressing him- 
self to my brother, rather to join the Catholics than 
the Huguenots, and this from conscience as well as 
interest. He concluded his address to my brother 
with conjuring him, as a son of France and a good 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 85 

Catholic, to assist him with his aid and counsel in this 
critical juncture, when his crown and the Catholic re- 
ligion were both at stake. He further said that, in 
order to get the start of so formidable a league, he 
ought to form one himself, and become the head of 
it, as well to show his zeal for religion as to pre- 
vent the Catholics from uniting under any other 
leader. He then proposed to declare himself the head 
of a league, which should be joined by my brother, 
the princes, nobles, governors, and others holding of- 
fices under the Government. Thus was my brother 
reduced to the necessity of making his Majesty a 
tender of his services for the support and maintenance 
of the Catholic religion. 

The King, having now obtained assurances of my 
brother's assistance in the event of a war, which was 
his sole view in the league which he had formed with 
so much art, assembled together the princes and chief 
noblemen of his Court, and, calling for the roll of 
the league, signed it first himself, next calling upon 
my brother to sign it, and, lastly, upon all present. 

The next day the States opened their meeting, 
when the King, calling upon the Bishops of Lyons, 
Ambrune, Vienne, and other prelates there present, 
for their advice, was told that, after the oath taken at 
his coronation, no oath made to heretics could bind 
him, and therefore he was absolved from his engage- 
ments with the Huguenots. 

This declaration being made at the opening of the 
assembly, and war declared against the Huguenots, 
the King abruptly dismissed from Court the Hugue- 
not, Genisac, who had arrived a few days before, 
charged by the King my husband with a commis- 
sion to hasten my departure. The King very sharply 
told him that his sister had been given to a Catho- 
lic, and not to a Huguenot; and that if the King my 



86 THE MEMOIRS OF 

husband expected to have me, he must declare him- 
self a Catholic. 

Every preparation for war was made, and nothing 
else talked of at Court; and, to make my brother still 
more obnoxious to the Huguenots, he had the com- 
mand of an army given him. Genisac came and in- 
formed me of the rough message he had been dis- 
missed with. Hereupon I went directly to the closet 
of the Queen my mother, where I found the King. 
I expressed my resentment at being deceived by him, 
and at being cajoled by his promise to accompany me 
from Paris to Poitiers, which, as it now appeared, 
was a mere pretence. I represented that I did not 
marry by my own choice, but entirely agreeable to 
the advice of King Charles, the Queen my mother, 
and himself; that, since they had given him to me for 
a husband, they ought not to hinder me from partak- 
ing of his fortunes; that I was resolved to go to him, 
and that if I had not their leave, I would get away 
how I could, even at the hazard of my life. The King 
answered : " Sister, it is not now a time to importune 
me for leave. I acknowledge that I have, as you say, 
hitherto prevented you from going, in order to forbid 
it altogether. From the time the King of Navarre 
changed his religion, and again became a Huguenot, 
I have been against your going to him. What the 
Queen my mother and I are doing is for your good. 
I am determined to carry on a war of extermination 
until this wretched religion of the Huguenots, which 
is of so mischievous a nature, is no more. Consider, 
my sister, if you, who are a Catholic, were once in 
their hands, you would become a hostage for me, and 
prevent my design. And who knows but they might 
seek their revenge upon me by taking away your life? 
No, you shall not go amongst them; and if you leave 
us in the manner you have now mentioned, rely upon 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 87 

It that you will make the Queen your mother and me 
your bitterest enemies, and that we shall use every 
means to make you feel the effects of our resentment; 
and, moreover, you will make your husband's situa- 
tion worse instead of better." 

I went from this audience with much dissatisfac- 
tion, and, taking advice of the principal persons of 
both sexes belonging to Court whom I esteemed my 
friends, I found them all of opinion that it would be 
exceedingly improper for me to remain in a Court 
now at open variance with the King my husband. 
They recommended me not to stay at Court whilst 
the war lasted, saying it would be more honourable 
for me to leave the kingdom under the pretence of 
a pilgrimage, or a visit to some of my kindred. The 
Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon was amongst those I con- 
sulted upon the occasion, who was on the point of 
setting off for Spa to take the waters there. 

My brother was likewise present at the consultation, 
and brought with him Mondoucet, who had been to 
Flanders in quality of the King's agent, whence he 
was just returned to represent to the King the dis- 
content that had arisen amongst the Flemings on 
account of infringements made by the Spanish Gov- 
ernment on the French laws. He stated that he was 
commissioned by several nobles, and the municipaHties 
of several towns, to declare how much they were in- 
clined in their hearts towards France, and how ready 
they were to come under a French government. Mon- 
doucet, perceiving the King not inclined to listen to 
his representation, as having his mind wholly occu- 
pied by the war he had entered into with the Hugue- 
nots, whom he was resolved to punish for having 
joined my brother,. had ceased to move in it further 
to the King, and addressed himself on the subject 
to my brother. My brother, with that princely spirit 



88 THE MEMOIRS OF 

which led him to undertake great achievements, read- 
ily lent an ear to Mondoucet's proposition, and prom- 
ised to engage in it, for he was born rather to conquer 
than to keep what he conquered. Mondoucet's propo- 
sition was the more pleasing to him as it was not 
unjust, — it being, in fact, to recover to France what 
had been usurped by Spain. 

Mondoucet had nt)w engaged himself in my broth- 
er's service, and was to return to Flanders under a 
pretence of accompanying the Princesse de Roche- 
sur-Yon in her journey to Spa; and as this agent per- 
ceived my counsellors to be at a loss for some pre- 
tence for my leaving Court and quitting France dur- 
ing the war, and that at first Savoy was proposed for 
my retreat, then Lorraine, and then Our Lady of 
Loretto, he suggested to my brother that I might be 
of great use to him in Flanders, if, under the colour 
of any complaint, I should be recommended to drink 
the Spa waters, and go with the Princesse de Roche- 
sur-Yon. My brother acquiesced in this opinion, and 
came up to me, saying: '* Oh, Queen! you need be no 
longer at a loss for a place to go to. I have observed 
that you have frequently an erysipelas on your arm, 
and you must accompany the Princess to Spa. You 
must say your physicians had ordered those waters 
for the complaint; but when they did so, it was not 
the season to take them. That season is now ap- 
proaching, and you hope to have the King's leave to 
go there." 

My brother did not deliver all he wished to say at 
that time, because the Cardinal de Bourbon was pres- 
ent, whom he knew to be a friend to the Guises and to 
Spain. However, I saw through his real design, and 
that he wished me to promote his views in Flanders. 

The company approved of my brother's advice, and 
the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon heard the proposal 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 89 

with great joy, having a great regard for me. She 
promised to attend me to the Queen my mother when 
I should ask her consent. 

The next day I found the Queen alone, and repre- 
sented to her the extreme regret I experienced in 
finding that a war was inevitable betwixt the King 
my husband and his Majesty, and that I must con- 
tinue in a state of separation from my husband; that, 
as long as the war lasted, it was neither decent nor 
honourable for me to stay at Court, where I must be 
in one or other, or both, of these cruel situations : 
either that the King my husband should believe that 
I continued in it out of inclination, and think me de- 
ficient in the duty I owed him; or that his Majesty 
should entertain suspicions of my giving intelligence to 
the King my husband. Either of these cases, I ob- 
served, could not but prove injurious to me. I there- 
fore prayed her not to take it amiss if I desired to 
remove myself from Court, and from becoming so 
unpleasantly situated; adding that my physicians had 
for some time recommended me to take the Spa waters 
for an erysipelas — to which I had been long sub- 
ject — on my arm; the season for taking these waters 
was now approaching, and that if she approved of it, 
I would use the present opportunity, by which means 
I should be at a distance from Court, and show my 
husband that, as I could not be with him, I was un- 
willing to remain amongst his enemies. I further 
expressed my hopes that, through her prudence, a 
peace might be effected in a short time betwixt the 
King my husband and his Majesty, and that my hus- 
band might be restored to the favour he formerly 
enjoyed; that whenever I learned the news of so joy- 
ful an event, I would renew my solicitations to be 
permitted to go to my husband. In the meantime, I 
should hope for her permission to have the honour of 



90 THE MEMOIRS OF 

accompanying the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon, there 
present, in her journey to Spa. 

She approved of what I proposed, and expressed 
her satisfaction that I had taken so prudent a reso- 
lution. She observed how much she was chagrined 
when she found that the King, through the evil per- 
suasions of the bishops, had resolved to break through 
the conditions of the last peace, which she had con- 
cluded in his name. She saw already the ill effects 
of this hasty proceeding, as it had removed from the 
King's Council many of his ablest and best servants. 
This gave her, she said, much concern, as it did like- 
wise to think I could not remain at Court without 
offending my husband, or creating jealousy and sus- 
picion in the King's mind. This being certainly what 
was likely to be the consequence of my staying, she 
would advise the King to give me leave to set out on 
this journey. 

She was as good as her word, and the King dis- 
coursed with me on the subject without exhibiting the 
smallest resentment. Indeed, he was well pleased now 
that he had prevented me from going to the King 
my husband, for whom he had conceived the greatest 
animosity. 

He ordered a courier to be immediately despatched 
to Don John of Austria, — who commanded for the 
King of Spain in Flanders, — to obtain from him the 
necessary passports for a free passage in the coun- 
tries under his command, as I should be obliged to 
cross a part of Flanders to reach Spa, which is in 
the bishopric of Liege. 

All matters being thus arranged, we separated in a 
few days after this interview. The short time my 
brother and I remained together was employed by 
him in giving me instructions for the commission I 
had undertaken to execute for him in Flanders. The 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 91 

King and the Queen my mother set out for Poitiers, 
to be near the army of M. de Mayenne, then besieg- 
ing Brouage, which place being reduced, it was in- 
tended to march into Gascony and attack the King 
my husband. 

My brother had the command of another army, 
ordered to besiege Issoire and some other towns, 
wliich he soon after took. 

For my part, I set out on my journey to Flanders 
accompanied by the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon, Ma- 
dame de Tournon, the lady of my bedchamber, 
Madame de Moiiy of Picardy, Madame de Chaste- 
laine, De Millon, Mademoiselle d'Atric^ Mademoiselle 
de Tournon, and seven or eight other young ladies. 
My male attendants were the Cardinal de Lenoncourt, 
the Bishop of Langres, and M. de Moiiy, Seigneur de 
Picardy, at present father-in-law to the brother of 
Queen Louise, called the Comte de Chaligny, with my 
principal steward of the household, my chief esquires, 
and the other gentlemen of my establishment. 



LETTER XIV 

THE cavalcade that attended me excited great 
curiosity as it passed through the several towns 
in the course of my journey, and reflected no 
small degree of credit on France, as it was splendidly 
set out, and made a handsome appearance. I trav- 
elled in a litter raised with pillars. The lining of it 
was Spanish velvet, of a crimson colour, embroidered 
in various devices with gold and different coloured 
silk thread. The windows were of glass, painted in 
devices. The lining and windows had, in the whole, 
forty devices, all different and alluding to the sun 
and its effects. Each device had its motto, either 
in the Spanish or Italian language. My litter was fol- 
lowed by two others; in the one was the Princesse 
de Roche-sur-Yon, and in the other Madame de 
Tournon, my lady of the bedchamber. After them 
followed ten maids of honour^ on horseback, with 
their governess; and, last of all, six coaches and 
chariots, with the rest of the ladies and all our female 
attendants. 

I took the road of Picardy, the towns in which 
province had received the King's orders to pay me all 
due honours. Being arrived at Le Catelet, a strong 
place, about three leagues distant from the frontier 
of the Cambresis, the Bishop of Cambray (an ecclesi- 
astical State acknowledging the King of Spain only 
as a guarantee) sent a gentleman to inquire of me at 
what hour I should leave the place, as he intended 
to meet me on the borders of his territory. 

92 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 93 

Accordingly I found him there, attended by a num- 
ber of his people, who appeared to be true Flemings, 
and to have all the rusticity and unpolished manners 
of their country. The Bishop was of the House of 
Barlemont, one of the principal families in Flanders. 
All of this house have shown themselves Spaniards at 
heart, and at that time were firmly attached to Don 
John. The Bishop received me with great politeness 
and not a little of the Spanish ceremony. 

Although the city of Cambray is not so well built 
as some of our towns in France, I thought it, not- 
withstanding, far more pleasant than many of these, 
as the streets and squares are larger and better dis- 
posed. The churches are grand and highly orna- 
mented, which is, indeed, common to France; but 
what I admired, above all, was the citadel, which 
is the finest and best constructed in Christendom. 
The Spaniards experienced it to be strong whilst my 
brother had it in his possession. The governor of 
the citadel at this time was a worthy gentleman 
named M. d'Ainsi, who was, in every respect, a polite 
and well-accomplished man, having the carriage and 
behaviour of one of our most perfect courtiers, very 
different from the rude incivility which appears to be 
the characteristic of a Fleming. 

The Bishop gave us a grand supper, and after 
supper a ball, to which he had invited all the ladies 
of the city. As soon as the ball was opened he with- 
drew, in accordance with the Spanish ceremony; but 
M. d'Ainsi did the honours for him, and kept me 
company during the ball, conducting me afterwards 
to a collation, which, considering his command at the 
citadel, was, I thought, imprudent. / speak from 
experience, having been taught, to my cost, and con- 
trary to my desire, the caution and vigilance neces- 
sary to he observed in keeping such places. As my 



94 THE MEMOIRS OF 

regard for my brother was always predominant in me, 
I continually had his instructions in mind, and now 
thought I had a fair opportunity to open my commis- 
sion and forward his views in Flanders, this town 
of Cambray, and especially the citadel, being, as it 
were, a key to that country. Accordingly I employed 
all the talents God had given me to make M. d'Ainsi 
a friend to France, and attach him to my brother's 
interest. Through God's assistance I succeeded with 
him, and so much was M. d'Ainsi pleased with my 
conversation that he came to the resolution of solicit- 
ing the Bishop, his master, to grant him leave to 
accompany me as far as Namur, where Don John of 
Austria was in waiting to receive me, observing that 
he had a great desire to witness so splendid an inter- 
view. This Spanish Fleming, the Bishop, had the 
weakness to grant M. d'Ainsi's request, who continued 
following in my train for ten or twelve days. Dur- 
ing this time he took every opportunity of discoursing 
with me, and showed that, in his heart, he was well 
disposed to embrace the service of France,, wishing no 
better master than the Prince my brother, and declar- 
ing that he heartily despised being under the com- 
mand of his Bishop, who, though his sovereign, was 
not his superior by birth, being born a private gentle- 
man like himself, and, in every other respect, greatly 
his inferior. 

Leaving Cambray, I set out to sleep at Valen- 
ciennes, the chief city of a part of Flanders called 
by the same name. Where this country is divided 
from Cambresis (as far as which I was conducted 
by the Bishop of Cambray), the Comte de Lalain, M. 
de Montigny his brother, and a number of gentlemen, 
to the amount of two or three hundred, came to 
meet me. 

Valenciennes is a town inferior to Cambray in 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 95 

point of strength, but equal to it for the beauty of its 
sqiiiares, and churches, — the former ornamented with 
fountains, as the latter are with curious clocks. The 
ingenuity of the Germans in the construction of their 
clocks was a matter of great surprise to all my 
attendants, few amongst whom had ever before 
seen clocks exhibiting a number of moving figures, 
and playing a variety of tunes in the most agreeable 
manner. 

The Comte de Lalain, the governor of the city, 
invited the lords and gentlemen of rny train to a ban- 
quet, reserving himself to give an entertainment to 
the ladies on our arrival at Mons, where we should 
find the Countess his wife, his sister-in-law Madame 
d'Aurec, and other ladies of distinction. Accordingly 
the Count, with his attendants, conducted us thither 
the next day. He claimed a relationship with the King 
my husband, and was, in reality, a person who carried 
great weight and authority. He was much dissatis- 
fied with the Spanish Government, and had conceived 
a great dislike for it since the execution of Count 
Egmont, who was his near kinsman. 

Although he had hitherto abstained from entering 
into the league with the Prince of Orange and the 
Huguenots, being himself a steady Catholic, yet he 
had not admitted of an interview with Don John, 
neither would he suffer him, nor any one in the in- 
terest of Spain, to enter upon his territories. Don 
John was unwilling to give the Count any umbrage, 
lest he should force him to unite the Catholic League 
of Flanders, called the League of the States, to that 
of the Prince of Orange and the Huguenots, well 
foreseeing that such a union would prove fatal to the 
Spanish interest, as other governors have since expe- 
rienced. With this disposition of mind, the Comte 
de Lalain thought he could not give me sufficient 



p6 THE MEMOIRS OF 

demonstrations of the joy he felt by my presence; 
and he could not have shown more honour to his 
natural prince, nor displayed greater marks of zeal 
and affection. 

On our arrival at Mons, I was lodged in his house, 
and found there the Countess his wife, and a Court 
consisting of eighty or a hundred ladies of the city 
and country. My reception was rather that of their 
sovereign lady than of a foreign princess. The Flem- 
ish ladies are naturally lively, affable, and engaging. 
The Comtesse de Lalain is remarkably so, and is, 
moreover, a woman of great sense and elevation of 
mind, in which particular, as well as in air and coun- 
tenance, she carries a striking resemblance to the 
lady your cousin. We became immediately intimate, 
and commenced a firm friendship at our first meet- 
ing. When the supper hour came, we sat down to a 
banquet, which was succeeded by a ball; and this 
rule the Count observed as long as I stayed at Mons, 
which was, indeed, longer than I intended. It had 
been my intention to stay at Mons one night only, but 
the Count's obliging lady prevailed on me to pass a 
whole week there. I strove to excuse myself from so 
long a stay, imagining it might be inconvenient to 
them; but whatever I could say availed nothing with 
the Count and his lady, and I was under the necessity 
of remaining with them eight days. The Countess 
and I were on so familiar a footing that she stayed in 
my bedchamber till a late hour, and would not have 
left me then had she not imposed upon herself a task 
very rarely performed by persons of her rank, which, 
however, placed the goodness of her disposition in the 
most amiable light. In fact, she gave suck to her 
infant son; and one day at table, sitting next me, 
whose whole attention was absorbed in the promotion 
of my brother's interest, — the table being the place 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 97 

where, according to the custom of the country, all are 
familiar and ceremony is laid aside, — she, dressed 
out in the richest manner and blazing with diamonds, 
gave the breast to her child without rising from her 
seat, the infant being brought to the table as superbly 
habited as its nurse, the mother. She performed this 
maternal duty with so much good humour, and with 
a gracefulness peculiar to herself, that this charitable 
office — which would have appeared disgusting and 
been considered as an affront if done by some others 
of equal rank — gave pleasure to all who sat at table, 
and, accordingly, they signified their approbation by 
their applause. 

The tables being removed, the dances commenced 
in the same room wherein we had supped, which was 
magnificent and large. The Countess and I sitting 
side by side, I expressed the pleasure I received from 
her conversation, and that I should place this meet- 
ing amongst the happiest events of my life. " In- 
deed," said I, " I shall have cause to regret that it 
ever did take place, as I shall depart hence so unwill- 
ingly, there being so little probability of our meeting 
again soon. Why did Heaven deny our being born 
in the same country ! " 

.This was said in order to introduce my brother's 
business. She replied : " This country did, indeed, 
formerly belong to France, and our lawyers now 
plead their causes in the French language. The 
greater part of the people here still retain an affec- 
tion for the French nation. For my part," added the 
Countess, " I have had a strong attachment to your 
country ever since I have had the honour of seeing 
you. This country has been long in the possession 
of the House of Austria, but the regard of the people 
for that house has been greatly weakened by the 
death of Count Egmont, M. de Home, M. de Mon- 



98 THE MEMOIRS OF 

tigny, and others of the same party, some of them our 
near relations, and all of the best families of the 
country. We entertain the utmost dislike for the 
Spanish Government, and wish for nothing so much 
as to throw off the yoke of their tyranny; but, as the 
country is divided betwixt different religions, we are 
at a loss how to effect it. If we could unite, we 
should soon drive out the Spaniards; but this division 
amongst ourselves renders us weak. Would to God 
the King your brother would come to a resolution 
of reconquering this country, to which he has an 
ancient claim! We should all receive him with open 
arms." 

This was a frank declaration, made by the Countess 
without premeditation, but it had been long agitated 
in the minds of the people, who considered that it 
was from France they were to hope for redress from 
the evils with which they were afflicted. I now found 
I had as favourable an opening as I could wish for 
to declare my errand. I told her that the King of 
France my brother was averse to engaging in for- 
eign war, and the more so as the Huguenots in his 
kingdom were too strong to admit of his sending any 
. large force out of it. '' My brother Alengon," said 
I, " has sufficient means, and might be induced to 
undertake it. He has equal valour, prudence, and 
benevolence with the King my brother or any of 
his ancestors. He has been bred to arms, and is 
esteemed one of the bravest generals of these times. 
He has the command of the King's army against 
the Huguenots, and has lately taken a well-fortified 
town, called Issoire, and some other places that were 
in their possession. You could not invite to your 
assistance a prince who has it so much in his power 
to give it; being not only a neighbour, but having 
a kingdom like France at his devotion, whence he 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 99 

may expect to derive the necessary aid and succour. 
The Count your husband may be assured that if he 
do my brother this good office he will not find him 
ungrateful, but may set what price he pleases upon 
his meritorious service. My brother is of a noble 
and generous disposition, and ready to requite those 
who do him favours. He is, moreover, an admirer of 
men of honour and gallantry, and accordingly is fol- 
lowed by the bravest and best men France has to 
boast of. I am in hopes that a peace will soon be 
reestablished with the Huguenots, and expect to find 
it so on my return to France. If the Count your 
husband think as you do^ and will permit me to 
speak to him on the subject, I will engage to bring 
my brother over to the proposal, and, in that case, 
your country in general, and your house in particular, 
will be well satisfied with him. If, through your 
means, my brother should establish himself here, you 
may depend on seeing me often, there being no 
brother or sister who has a stronger affection for each 
other." 

The Countess appeared to listen to what I said 
with great pleasure, and acknowledged that she had 
not entered upon this discourse without design. She 
observed that, having perceived I did her the honour 
to have some regard for her, she had resolved within 
herself not to let me depart out of the country with- 
out explaining to me the situation of it, and begging 
me to procure the aid of France to relieve them from 
the apprehensions of living in a state of perpetual 
war or of submitting to Spanish tyranny. She there- 
upon entreated me to allow her to relate our present 
conversation to her husband, and permit them both 
to confer with me on the subject the next day. To 
this I readily gave my consent. 

Thus we passed the evening in discourse upon the 
Memoirs — 4 Vol. A 



100 THE MEMOIRS OF 

object of my mission, and I observed that she took a 
singular pleasure in talking upon it in all our succeed- 
ing conferences when I thought proper to introduce 
it. The ball being ended, we went to hear vespers 
at the church of the Canonesses, an order of nuns of 
which we have none in France. These are young 
ladies who are entered in these communities at a 
tender age, in order to improve their fortunes till they 
are of an age to be married. They do not all sleep 
under the same roof, but in detached houses within 
an enclosure. In each of these houses are three, four, 
or perhaps six young girls, under the care of an old 
woman. These governesses^ together with the abbess, 
are of the number of such as have never been 
married. These girls never wear the habit of the 
order but in church; and the service there ended, 
they dress like others, pay visits, frequent balls, 
and go where they please. They were constant vis- 
itors at the Count's entertainments, and danced at 
his balls. 

The Countess thought the time long until the night, 
when she had an opportunity of relating to the Count 
the conversation she had with me, and the opening 
of the business. The next morning she came to me, 
and brought her husband with her. He entered into 
a detail of the grievances the country laboured under, 
and the just reasons he had for ridding it of the 
tyranny of Spain. In doing this, he said, he should 
not consider himself as acting against his natural 
sovereign, because he well knew he ought to look for 
him in the person of the King of France. He ex- 
plained to me the means whereby my brother might 
establish himself in Flanders, having possession of 
Hainault, which extended as far as Brussels. He 
said the difficulty lay in securing the Cambresis, 
which is situated betwixt Hainault and Flanders. It 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS loi 

would, therefore, be necessary to engage M. d'Ainsi 
in the business. To this I rephed that, as he was 
his neighbour and friend, it might be better that he 
should open the matter to him; and I begged he would 
do so. I next assured him that he might have the 
most perfect reliance on the gratitude and friendship 
of my brother, and be certain of receiving as large 
a share of power and authority as such a service done 
by a person of his rank merited. Lastly, we agreed 
upon an interview betwixt my brother and M. de 
Montigny, the brother of the Count, which was to 
take place at La Fere, upon my return, when this 
business should be arranged. During the time I 
stayed at Mons, I said all I could to confirm the Count 
in this resolution, in which I found myself seconded 
by the Countess. 

The day of my departure was now arrived, to the 
great regret of the ladies of Mons, as well as myself. 
The Countess expressed herself in terms which 
showed she had conceived the warmest friendship for 
me, and made me promise to return by way of that 
city. I presented the Countess with a diamond brace- 
let, and to the Count I gave a riband and diamond star 
of considerable value. But these presents, valuable as 
they were, became more so^ in their estimation, as I 
was the donor. 

Of the ladies, none accompanied me from this place, 
except Madame d'Aurec. She went with me to 
Namur, where I slept that night, and where she 
expected to find her husband and the Due d'Arscot, 
her brother-in-law, who had been there since the 
peace betwixt the King of Spain and the States of 
Flanders. For though they were both of the party 
of the States, yet the Due d'Arscot, being an old cour- 
tier and having attended King Philip in Flanders and 
England, could not withdraw himself from Court and 



102 THE MEMOIRS OF 

the society of the great. The Comte de Lalain, with 
all his nobles, conducted me two leagues beyond his 
government, and until he saw Don John's company 
in the distance advancing to meet me. He then 
took his leave of me, being unwilling to meet Don 
John; but M. d'Ainsi stayed with me, as his mas- 
ter, the Bishop of Cambray, was in the Spanish 
interest. 

This gallant company having left me, I was soon 
after met by Don John of Austria, preceded by a 
great number of running footmen, and escorted by 
only twenty or thirty horsemen. He was attended by 
a number of noblemen, and amongst the rest the Due 
d'Arscot, M. d'Aurec, the Marquis de Varenbon, and 
the younger Balengon, governor, for the King of 
Spain, of the county of Burgundy. These last two, 
who are brothers, had ridden post to meet me. Of 
Don John's household there was only Louis de Gon- 
zago of any rank. He called himself a relation of the 
Duke of Mantua; the others were mean-looking peo- 
ple, and of no consideration. Don John alighted from 
his horse to salute me in my litter, which was opened 
for the purpose. I returned the salute after the 
French fashion to him, the Due d'Arscot, and M. 
d'Aurec. After an exchange of compliments, he 
mounted his horse, but continued in discourse with 
me until we reached the city, which was not before 
it grew dark, as I set off late, the ladies of Mons 
keeping me as long as they could, amusing themselves 
with viewing my litter, and requiring an explanation 
of the different mottoes and devices. However, as 
the Spaniards excel in preserving good order, Namur 
appeared with particular advantage, for the streets 
were well lighted, every house being illuminated, so 
that the blaze exceeded that of daylight. 

Our supper was served to us in our respective apart- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 103 

ments, Don John being unwilling, after the fatigue 
of so long a journey, to incommode us with a ban- 
quet. The house in which I was lodged had been 
newly furnished for the purpose of receiving me. It 
consisted of a magnificent large salon, with a private 
apartment, consisting of lodging rooms and closets, 
furnished in the most costly manner, with furniture 
of every kind, and hung with the richest tapestry of 
velvet and satin, divided into compartments by col- 
umns of silver embroidery, with knobs of gold, all 
wrought in the most superb manner. Within these 
compartments were figures in antique habits, em- 
broidered in gold and silver. 

The Cardinal de Lenoncourt, a man of taste and 
curiosity, being one day in these apartments with the 
Due d'Arscot, who, as I have before observed, was an 
ornament to Don John's Court, remarked to him that 
this furniture seemed more proper for a great king 
than a young unmarried prince like Don John. To 
which the Due d'Arscot replied that it came to him 
as a present, having been sent to him by a bashaw 
belonging to the Grand Seignior, whose sons he had 
made prisoners in a signal victory obtained over the 
Turks. Don John having sent the bashaw's sons back 
without ransom, the father, in return, made him a 
present of a large quantity of gold, silver, and silk 
stuffs, which he caused to be wrought into tapestry 
at Milan, where there are curious workmen in this 
way; and he had the Queen's bedchamber hung with 
tapestry representing the battle in which he had so 
gloriously defeated the Turks. 

The next morning Don John conducted us to chapel, 
where we heard mass celebrated after the Spanish 
manner, with all kinds of music, after which we par- 
took of a banquet prepared by Don John. He and 
I were seated at a separate table, at a distance of three 



104 THE MEMOIRS OF 

yards from which stood the great one, of which the 
honours were done by Madame d'Aurec. At this 
table the ladies and principal lords took their seats. 
Don John was served with drink by Louis de Gon- 
zago, kneeling. The tables being removed^ the ball 
was opened, and the dancing continued the whole 
afternoon. The evening was spent in conversation 
betwixt Don John and me, who told me I greatly re- 
sembled the Queen his mistress, by whom he meant 
the late Queen my sister, and for whom he professed 
to have entertained a very high esteem. In short, Don 
John manifested, by every mark of attention and po- 
liteness, as well to me as to my attendants, the very 
great pleasure he had in receiving me. 

The boats which were to convey me upon the 
Meuse to Liege not all being ready, I was under the 
necessity of staying another day. The morning was 
passed as that of the day before. After dinner, we 
embarked on the river in a very beautiful boat, sur- 
rounded by others having on board musicians playing 
on hautboys, horns, and violins, and landed at an 
island where Don John had caused a collation to be 
prepared in a large bower formed with branches of 
ivy, in which the musicians were placed in small 
recesses, playing on their instruments during 
^ the time of supper. The tables being removed, 
the dances began, and lasted till it was time to 
return, which I did in the same boat that conveyed 
me thither, and which was that provided for my 
voyage. 

The next morning Don John conducted me to the 
boat, and there took a most polite and courteous leave, 
charging M. and Madame d'Aurec to see me safe to 
Huy, the first town belonging to the Bishop of Liege, 
where I was to sleep. As soon as Don John had 
gone on shore, M. d'Ainsi, who remained in the boat, 



'mm 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 105 

and who had the Bishop of Cambray's permission to 
go to Namur only, took leave of me with many pro- 
testations of fidelity and attachment to my brother and 
myself. 

But Fortune, envious of my hitherto prosperous 
journey, gave me two omens of the sinister events of 
my return. 

The first was the sudden illness which attacked 
Mademoiselle de Tournon, the daughter of the lady of 
my bedchamber, a young person, accomplished, with 
every grace and virtue, and for whom I had the most 
perfect regard. No sooner had the boat left the 
shore than this young lady was seized with an alarm- 
ing disorder, which, from the great pain attending it, 
caused her to scream in the most doleful manner. 
The physicians attributed the cause to spasms of the 
heart, which, notwithstanding the utmost exertions of 
their skill, carried her off a few days after my arrival 
at Liege. As the history of this young lady is re- 
markable, I shall relate it in my next letter. 

The other omen was what happened to us at Huy, 
immediately upon our arrival there. This town is 
built on the declivity of a mountain, at the foot of 
which runs the river Meuse. As we were about to 
land, there fell a torrent of rain, which, coming down 
the steep sides of the mountain, swelled the river 
instantly to such a degree that we had only time to 
leap out of the boat and run to the top, the flood 
reaching the very highest street, next to where I was 
to lodge. There we were forced to put up with such 
accommodation as could be procured in the house, as 
it was impossible to remove the smallest article of 
our baggage from the boats, or even to stir out of the 
house we were in, the whole city being under water. 
However, the town was as suddenly relieved from this 
calamity as it had been afflicted with it, for, on the 



io6 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

next morning, the whole inundation had ceased, the 
waters having run off, and the river being confined 
within its usual channel. 

Leaving Huy, M. and Madame d'Aurec returned 
to Don John at Namur, and I proceeded, in the boat, 
to sleep that night at Liege. 



LETTER XVr 

THE Bishop of Liege, who is the sovereign of 
the city and province, received me with all the 
cordiality and respect that could be expected 
from a personage of his dignity and great accomplish- 
ments. He was, indeed, a nobleman endowed with 
singular prudence and virtue, agreeable in his person 
and conversation, gracious and magnificent in his car- 
riage and behaviour, to which I may add that he spoke 
the French language perfectly. 

He was constantly attended by his chapter, with 
several of his canons, who are all sons of dukes, 
counts, or great German lords. The bishopric is it- 
self a sovereign State, which brings in a considerable 
revenue, and includes a number of fine cities. The 
bishop is chosen from amongst the canons, who must 
be of noble descent, and resident one year. The city 
is larger than Lyons, and much resembles it, having 
the Meuse running through it. The houses in which 
the canons reside have the appearance of noble pal- 
aces. The streets of the city are regular and spacious, 
the houses of the citizens well built, the squares large, 
and ornamented with curious fountains. The 
churches appear as if raised entirely of marble, of 
which there are considerable quarries in the neigh- 
bourhood; they are all of them ornamented with 
beautiful clocks, and exhibit a variety of moving 
figures. 

The Bishop received me as I landed from the boat, 
and conducted me to his magnificent residence, orna- 

107 



io8 THE MEMOIRS OF 

merited with delicious fountains and gardens, set off 
with galleries, all painted, superbly gilt, and enriched 
with marble, beyond description. 

The spring which affords the waters of Spa being 
distant no more than three or four leagues from the 
city of Liege, and there being only a village, consist- 
ing of three or four small houses, on the spot, the 
Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon was advised by her phy- 
sicians to stay at Liege and have the waters brought 
to her, which they assured her would have equal 
efficacy, if taken after sunset and before sunrise, as 
if drunk at the spring. I was well pleased that she 
resolved to follow the advice of the doctors, as we 
were more comfortably lodged and had an agreeable 
society; for, besides his Grace (so the bishop is styled, 
as a king is addressed his Majesty, and a prince his 
Highness), the news of my arrival being spread about, 
many lords and ladies came from Germany to visit 
me. Amongst these was the Countess d'Aremberg, 
who had the honour to accompany Queen Elizabeth 
to Mezieres, to which place she came to marry King 
Charles my brother, a lady very high in the estima- 
tion of the Empress, the Emperor, and all the princes 
in Christendom. With her came her sister the 
Landgravine, Madame d'Aremberg her daughter, M. 
d'Aremberg her son, a gallant and accomplished no- 
bleman, the perfect image of his father, who brought 
the Spanish succours to King Charles my brother, and 
returned with great honour and additional reputation. 
This meeting, so honourable to me, and so much to 
my satisfaction, was damped by the grief and con- 
cern occasioned by the loss of Mademoiselle de Tour- 
non, whose story, being of a singular nature, I shall 
now relate to you, agreeably to the promise I made in 
my last letter. 

I must begin with observing to you that Madame 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 109 

de Tournon, at this time lady of my bedchamber, had 
several daughters, the eldest of whom married M. de 
Balengon, governor, for the King of Spain, in the 
county of Burgundy, This daughter, upon her mar- 
riage, had solicited her mother to admit of her taking 
her sister, the young lady whose story I am now 
about to relate, to live with her, as she was going to 
a country strange to her, and wherein she had no 
relations. To this her mother consented; and the 
young lady, being universally admired for her mod- 
esty and graceful accomplishments, for which she cer- 
tainly deserved admiration, attracted the notice of the 
Marquis de Varenbon. The Marquis, as I before 
mentioned, is the brother of M. de Balengon, and was 
intended for the Church; but, being violently enam- 
oured of Mademoiselle de Tournon (who, as he 
lived in the same house, he had frequent opportuni- 
ties of seeing), he now begged his brother's permis- 
sion to marry her, not having yet taken orders. The 
young lady's family, to whom he had likewise com- 
municated his wish, readily gave their consent, but 
his brother refused his, strongly advising him to 
change his resolution and put on the gown. 

Thus were matters situated when her mother, Ma- 
dame de Tournon, a virtuous and pious lady, thinking 
she had cause to be offended, ordered her daughter to 
leave the house of her sister, Madame de Balengon, 
and come to her. The mother, a woman of a violent 
spirit, not considering that her daughter was grown 
up and merited a mild treatment, was continually 
scolding the poor young lady, so that she was for 
ever with tears in her eyes. Still, there was noth- 
ing to blame in the young girl's conduct, but such 
was the severity of the mother's disposition. The 
daughter, as you may well suppose, wished to be from 
under the mother's tyrannical government, and was 



no THE MEMOIRS OF 

accordingly delighted with the thoughts of attending 
me in this journey to Flanders, hoping, as it happened, 
that she should meet the Marquis de Varenbon some- 
where on the road, and that, as he had now abandoned 
all thoughts of the Church, he would renew his pro- 
posal of marriage, and take her from her mother. 

I have before mentioned that the Marquis de 
Varenbon and the younger Balengon joined us at 
Namur. Young Balengon, who was far from being 
so agreeable as his brother, addressed himself to the 
young lady, but the Marquis, during the whole time 
we stayed at Namur, paid not the least attention to 
her, and seemed as if he had never been acquainted 
with her. 

The resentment, grief, and disappointment occa- 
sioned by a behaviour so slighting and unnatural was 
necessarily stifled in her breast, as decorum and her 
sex's pride obliged her to appear as if she disregarded 
it; but when, after taking leave, all of them left the 
boat, the anguish of her mind, which she had hitherto 
suppressed, could no longer be restrained, and, labour- 
ing for vent, it stopped her respiration, and forced 
from her those lamentable outcries which I have al- 
ready spoken of. Her youth combated for eight days 
with this uncommon disorder, but at the expiration of 
that time she died, to the great grief of her mother, 
as well as myself. I say of her mother, for, though 
she was so rigidly severe over this daughter, she ten- 
derly loved her. 

The funeral of this unfortunate young lady was 
solemnized with all proper ceremonies, and conducted 
in the most honourable manner, as she was descended 
from a great family, allied to the Queen my mother. 
When the day of interment arrived, four of my gen- 
tlemen were appointed bearers, one of whom was 
named La Boessiere. This man had entertained a 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS iii 

secret passion for her, which he never durst declare on 
account of the inferiority of his family and station. 
He was now destined to bear the remains of her, 
dead, for whom he had long been dying, and was now 
as near dying for her loss as he had before been for 
her love. The melancholy procession was marching 
slowly along, when it was met by the Marquis de 
Varenbon, who had been the sole occasion of it. We 
had not left Namur long when the Marquis reflected 
upon his cruel behaviour towards this unhappy young 
lady; and his passion (wonderful to relate) being re- 
vived by the absence of her who inspired it, though 
scarcely alive while she was present, he had resolved 
to come and ask her of her mother in marriage. He 
made no doubt, perhaps, of success, as he seldom 
failed in enterprises of love; witness the great lady 
he has since obtained for a wife, in opposition to the 
will of her family. He might, besides, have flattered 
himself that he should easily have gained a pardon 
from her by whom he was beloved, according to the 
Italian proverb, " Che la forza d'amore non riguarda 
al delitto " (Lovers are not criminal in the estimation 
of one another). Accordingly, the Marquis solicited 
Don John to be despatched to me on some errand, and 
arrived, as I said before, at the very instant the corpse 
of this ill-fated young lady was being borne to the 
grave. He was stopped by the crowd occasioned by 
this solemn procession. He contemplates it for some 
time. He observes a long train of persons in mourn- 
ing, and remarks the coflin to be covered with a white 
pall, and that there are chaplets of flowers laid upon 
the coffin. He inquires whose funeral it is. The 
answer he receives is, that it is the funeral of a young 
lady. Unfortunately for him, this reply fails to sat- 
isfy his curiosity. He makes up to one who led the 
procession, and eagerly asks the name of the young 



112 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

lady they are proceeding to bury. When, oh, fatal 
answer! Love, wiUing to avenge the victim of his 
ingratitude and neglect, suggests a reply which had 
nearly deprived him of life. He no sooner hears the 
name of Mademoiselle de Tournon pronounced than 
he falls from his horse in a swoon. He is taken up 
for dead, and conveyed to the nearest house, where 
he lies for a time insensible; his soul, no doubt, leav- 
ing his body to obtain pardon from her whom he 
had hastened to a premature grave, to return to taste 
the bitterness of death a second time. 

Having performed the last offices to the remains of 
this poor young lady, I was unwilling to discompose 
, the gaiety of the society assembled here on my ac- 
count by any show of grief. Accordingly, I joined 
the Bishop, or, as he is called, his Grace, and his 
canons, in their entertainments at different houses, 
and in gardens, of which the city and its neighbour- 
hood afforded a variety. I was every morning at- 
tended by a numerous company to the garden, in 
which I drank the waters, the exercise of walking 
being recommended to be used with them. As the 
physician who advised me to take them was my own 
brother, they did not fail of their effect with me; and 
for these six or seven years which are gone over my 
head since I drank them, I have been free from any 
complaint of erysipelas on my arm. From this gar- 
den we usually proceeded to the place where we were 
invited to dinner. After dinner we were amused with 
a ball; from the ball we went to some convent, where 
we heard vespers; from vespers to supper, and that 
over, we had another ball, or music on the river. 



LETTER XVI 

IN this manner we passed the six weeks, which is 
the usual time for taking these waters, at the ex- 
piration of which the Princesse de Roche-sur- 
Yon was desirous to return to France; but Madame 
d'Aurec, who just then returned to us from Namur, 
on her way to rejoin her husband in Lorraine, brought 
us news of an extraordinary change of affairs in that 
town and province since we had passed through it. 

It appeared from this lady's account that, on the 
very day we left Namur, Don John, after quitting 
the boat, mounted his horse under pretence of tak- 
ing the diversion of hunting, and, as he passed the 
gate of the castle of Namur, expressed a desire of 
seeing it; that, having entered, he took possession 
of it, notwithstanding he held it for the States, agree- 
ably to a convention. Don John, moreover, arrested 
the persons of the Due d'Arscot and M. d'Aurec, and 
also made Madame d'Aurec a prisoner. After some 
remonstrances and entreaties, he had set her husband 
and brother-in-law at liberty, but detained her as a 
hostage for them. In consequence of these measures, 
the whole country was in arms. The province of Na- 
mur was divided into three parties: the first whereof 
was that of the States, or the Catholic party of Flan- 
ders; the second that of the Prince of Orange and the 
Huguenots; the third, the Spanish party, of which 
Don John was the head. 

By letters which I received just at this time from 
my brother, through the hands of a gentleman named 

113 



114 THE MEMOIRS OF 

Lescar, I found I was in great danger of falling into 
the hands of one or other of these parties. 

These letters informed me that, since my departure 
from Court, God had dealt favourably with my 
brother, and enabled him to acquit himself of the com- 
mand of the army confided to him, greatly to the 
benefit of the King's service; so that he had taken all 
the towns and driven the Huguenots out of the prov- 
inces, agreeably to the design for which the army 
was raised; that he had returned to the Court at 
Poitiers, where the King stayed during the siege of 
Brouage, to be near to M. de Mayenne, in order to 
afford him whatever succours he stood in need of; 
that, as the Court is a Proteus, forever putting on a 
new face, he had found it entirely changed, so that 
he had been no more considered than if he had done 
the King no service whatever; and that Bussi, who 
had been so graciously looked upon before and dur- 
ing this last war, had done great personal service, and 
had lost a brother at the storming of Issoire, was very 
coolly received, and even as maliciously persecuted as 
in the time of Le Guast; in consequence of which 
either he or Bussi experienced some indignity or other. 
He further mentioned that the King's favourites had 
been practising with his most faithful servants, 
Maugiron, La Valette, Mauleon^ and Hivarrot, and 
several other good and trusty men, to desert him, 
and enter into the King's service; and, lastly, that the 
King had repented of giving me leave to go to Flan- 
ders, and that, to counteract my brother, a plan was 
laid to intercept me on my return, either by the Span- 
iards, for which purpose they had been told that I 
had treated for delivering up the country to him, or 
by the Huguenots, in revenge of the war my brother 
had carried on against them, after having formerly 
assisted them. 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 115 

This intelligence required to be well considered, as 
there seemed to be an utter impossibility of avoiding 
both parties. I had, however, the pleasure to think 
that two of the principal persons of my company 
stood well with either one or another party. The 
Cardinal de Lenoncourt had been thought to favour 
the Huguenot party, and M. Descartes, brother to the 
Bishop of Lisieux, was supposed to have the Spanish 
interest at heart. I communicated our difficult situa- 
tion to the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon and Madame 
de Tournon, who, considering that we could not reach 
La Fere in less than five or six days, answered me, 
with tears in their eyes, that God only had it in his 
power to preserve us, that I should recommend my- 
self to his protection, and then follow such measures 
as should seem advisable. They observed that, as one 
of them was in a weak state of health, and the other 
advanced in years, I might affect to make short jour- 
neys on their account, and they would put up with 
every inconvenience to extricate me from the danger 
I was in. 

I next consulted with the Bishop of Liege, who 
most certainly acted towards me like a father, and 
gave directions to the grand master of his house- 
hold to attend me with his horses as far as I should 
think proper. As it was necessary that we should 
have a passport from the Prince of Orange, I sent 
Mondoucet to him to obtain one, as he was acquainted 
with the Prince and was known to favour his religion. 
Mondoucet did not return, and I believe I might have 
waited for him until this time to no purpose. I was 
advised by the Cardinal de Lenoncourt and my first 
esquire, the Chevalier Salviati, who were of the same 
party, not to stir without a passport; but, as I sus- 
pected a plan was laid to entrap me, I resolved to set 
out the next morning. 



ii6 THE MEMOIRS OF 

They now saw that this pretence was insufficient to 
detain me; accordingly, the ChevaHer Salviati pre- 
vailed with my treasurer, who was secretly a Hugue- 
not, to declare he had not money enough in his hands 
to discharge the expenses we had incurred at Liege,, 
and that, in consequence, my horses were detained.: 
I afterwards discovered that this was false, for, on 
my arrival at La Fere, I called for his accounts, and 
found he had then a balance in his hands which would 
have enabled him to pay the expenses of my family 
for six or seven weeks. The Princesse de Roche-sur- 
Yon, incensed at the affront put upon me, and seeing 
the danger I incurred by staying, advanced the money 
that was required, to their great confusion; and I took 
my leave of his Grace the Bishop, presenting him with 
a diamond worth three thousand crowns, and giving! 
his domestics gold chains and rings. Having thus 
taken our leave, we proceeded to Huy, without any 
other passport than God's good providence. 

This town, as I observed before, belongs to the 
Bishop of Liege, but was now in a state of tumult and 
confusion, on account of the general revolt of the Low 
Countries, the townsmen taking part with the Nether- 
landers, notwithstanding the bishopric was a neutral 
State. On this account they paid no respect to the 
grand master of the Bishop's household, who accom- 
panied us, but, knowing Don John had taken the 
castle of Namur in order, as they supposed, to inter- 
cept me on my return, these brutal people, as soon as 
I had got into my quarters, rang the alarm-bell, drew 
up their artillery, placed chains across the streets, and 
kept us thus confined and separated the whole night, 
giving us no opportunity to expostulate with them on 
such conduct. In the morning we were suffered to 
leave the town without further molestation, and the 
streets we passed through were lined with armed men. 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 117 

From there we proceeded to Dinant, where we in- 
tended to sleep; but, unfortunately for us, the towns- 
people had on that day chosen their burghermasters, 
a kind of officers like the consuls in Gascony and 
France. In consequence of this election, it was a day 
of tumult, riot, and debauchery; every one in the 
town was drunk, no magistrate was acknowledged. 
In a word, all was in confusion. To render our sit- 
uation still worse, the grand master of the Bishop's 
household had formerly done the town some ill office, 
and was considered as its enemy. The people of the 
town, when in their sober senses, were inclined to fa- 
vour the party of the States, but under the influence 
of Bacchus they paid no regard to any party, not even 
to themselves. 

As soon as I had reached the suburbs, they were 
alarmed at the number of my company, quitted the 
bottle and glass to take up their arms, and immedi- 
ately shut the gates against me. I had sent a gentle- 
man before me, with my harbinger and quartermas- 
ters, to beg the magistrates to admit me to stay one 
night in the town, but I found my officers had been 
put under an arrest. They bawled out to us from 
within, to tell us their situation, but could not make 
themselves heard. At length I raised myself up in 
my litter, and, taking off my mask, made a sign to 
a townsman nearest me, of the best appearance, that 
I was desirous to speak with him. As soon as he 
drew near me, I begged him to call out for silence, 
which being with some difficulty obtained, I repre- 
sented to him who I was, and the occasion of my 
journey; that it was far from my intention to do 
them harm; but, to prevent any suspicions of the kind, 
I only begged to be admitted to go into their city 
with my women, and as few others of my attendants 
as they thought proper, and that we might be per- 



ii8 THE MEMOIRS OF 

mitted to stay there for one night, whilst the rest of 
my company remained within the suburbs. 

They agreed to this proposal, and opened their 
gates for my admission. I then entered the city with 
the principal persons of my company, and the grand 
master of the Bishop's household. This reverend per- 
sonage, who was eighty years of age, and wore a 
beard as white as snow, which reached down to his 
girdle,' — this venerable old man, I say, was no sooner 
recognized by the drunken and armed rabble than he 
was accosted with the grossest abuse, and it was with 
difficulty they were restrained from laying violent 
hands upon him. At length I got him into my lodg- 
ings, but the mob fired at the house, the walls of which 
were only of plaster. Upon being thus attacked, I 
inquired for the master of the house, who, fortu- 
nately, was within. I entreated him to speak from 
the window, to some one without, to obtain permission 
for my being heard. I had some difficulty to get him 
to ventu-re doing so. At length, after much bawling 
from the window, the burghermasters came to speak 
to me, but were so drunk that they scarcely knew 
what they said. I explained to them that I was en- 
tirely ignorant that the grand master of the Bishop's 
household was a person to whom they had a dislike, 
and I begged them to consider the consequences of 
giving offence to a person like me, who was a friend 
of the principal lords of the States, and I assured 
them that the Comte de Lalain, in particular, would 
be greatly displeased when he should hear how I had 
been received there. 

The name of the Comte de Lalain produced an 
instant effect, much more than if I had mentioned all 
the sovereign princes I was related to. The principal 
person amongst them asked me, with some hesitation 
and stammering, if I was really a particular friend 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 119 

of the Count's. Perceiving that to claim kindred with 
the Count would do me more service than being re- 
lated to all the Powers in Christendom, I answered 
that I was both a friend and a relation. They then 
made me many apologies and conges, stretching forth 
their hands in token of friendship; in short, they now 
behaved with as much civility as before with rudeness. 
They begged my pardon for what had happened, and 
promised that the good old man, the grand master of 
the Bishop's household, should be no more insulted, 
but be suffered to leave the city quietly, the next 
morning, with me. 

As soon as morning came, and while I was prepar- 
ing to go to hear mass, there arrived the King's agent 
to Don John, named Du Bois, a man much attached 
to the Spanish interest He informed me that he had 
received orders from the King my brother to conduct 
me in safety on my return. He said that he had pre- 
vailed on Don John to permit Barlemont to escort me 
to Namur with a troop of cavalry, and begged me to 
obtain leave of the citizens to admit Barlemont and 
his troop to enter the town, that they might receive 
my orders. 

Thus had they concerted a double plot; the one to 
get possession of the town, the other of my person. 
I saw through the whole design, and consulted with 
the Cardinal de Lenoncourt, communicating to him 
my suspicions. The Cardinal was as unwilling to fall 
into the hands of the Spaniards as I could be; he 
therefore thought it advisable to acquaint the towns- 
people with the plot, and make our escape from the 
city by another road, in order to avoid meeting Barle- 
mont's troop. It was agreed betwixt us that the 
Cardinal should keep Du Bois in discourse, whilst I 
consulted the principal citizens in another apartment. 
Accordingly, I assembled as many as I could, to 



I20 THE MEMOIRS OF 

whom I represented that if they admitted Barlemont 
and his troop within the town, he would most cer- 
tainly take possession of it for Don John. I gave it 
as my advice to make a show of defence, to declare 
they would not be taken by surprise, and to offer to 
admit Barlemont, and no one else, within their gates. 
They resolved to act according to my counsel, and 
offered to serve me at the hazard of their lives. They 
promised to procure me a guide, who should conduct 
me by a road by following which I should put the 
river betwixt me and Don John's forces, whereby I 
should be out of his reach, and could be lodged in 
houses and towns which were in the interest of the 
States only. 

This point being settled, I despatched them to give 
admission to M. de Barlemont, who, as soon as he 
entered within the gates, begged hard that his troop 
might come in likewise. Hereupon, the citizens flew 
into a violent rage, and were near putting him to 
death. They told him that if he did not order his 
men out of sight of the town, they would fire upon 
them with their great guns. This was done with de- 
sign to give me time to leave the town before they 
could follow in pursuit of me. M. de Barlemont and 
the agent, Du Bois, used every argument they could 
devise to persuade me to go to Namur, where they 
said Don John waited to receive me. 

I appeared to give way to their persuasions, and, 
after hearing mass and taking a hasty dinner, I left 
my lodgings, escorted by two or three hundred armed 
citizens, some of them engaging Barlemont and Du 
Bois in conversation. We all took the way to the 
gate which opens to the river, and directly opposite 
to that leading to Namur. Du Bois and his colleague 
told me I was not going the right way, but I con- 
tinued talking, and as if I did not hear them. But 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 121 

when we reached the gate I hastened into the boat, 
and my people after me. M. de Barlemont and the 
agent Du Bois, calHng out to me from the bank, told 
me I was doing very wrong and acting directly con- 
trary to the King's intention, who had directed that 
I should return by way of Namur. 

In spite of all their remonstrances we crossed the 
river with all possible expedition, and, during the two 
or three crossings which were necessary to convey 
over the litters and horses, the citizens, to give me the 
more time to escape, were debating with Barlemont 
and Du Bois concerning a number of grievances and 
complaints, telling them, in their coarse language, that 
Don John had broken the peace and falsified his en- 
gagements with the States; and they even rehearsed 
the old quarrel of the death of Egmont, and, lastly, 
declared that if the troop made its appearance before 
their walls again, they would fire upon it with their 
artillery. 

I had by this means sufficient time to reach a secure 
distance, and was, by the help of God and the assist- 
ance of my guide, out of all apprehensions of danger 
from Barlemont and his troop. 

I intended to lodge that night in a strong castle, 
called Fleurines, which belonged to a gentleman of 
the Party of the States, whom I had seen with the 
Comte de Lalain. Unfortunately for me, the gentle- 
man was absent, and his lady only was in the castle. 
The courtyard being open, we entered it, which put 
the lady into such a fright that she ordered the bridge 
to be drawn up, and fled to the strong tower. Noth- • 
ing we could say would induce her to give us en- 
trance. In the meantime, three hundred gentlemen, 
whom Don John had sent off to intercept our passage, 
and take possession of the castle of Fleurines, judging 
that I should take up my quarters there, made their 



122 THE MEMOIRS OF 

appearance upon an eminence, at the distance of about 
a thousand yards. They, seeing our carriages in the 
courtyard, and supposing that we ourselves had taken 
to the strong tower, resolved to stay where they were 
that night, hoping to intercept me the next morning. 

In this cruel situation were we placed, in a court- 
yard surrounded by a wall by no means strong, and 
shut up by a gate equally as weak and as capable of 
being forced, remonstrating from time to time with 
the lady, who was deaf to all our prayers and 
entreaties. 

Through God's mercy, her husband, M. de Fleu- 
rines, himself appeared just as night approached. We 
then gained instant admission, and the lady was 
greatly reprimanded by her husband for her incivility 
and indiscreet behaviour. This gentleman had been 
sent by the Comte de Lalain, with directions to con- 
duct me through the several towns belonging to the 
States, the Count himself not being able to leave the 
army of the States, of which he had the chief com- 
mand, to accompany me. 

This was as favourable a circumstance for me as I 
could wish; for, M. de Fleurines offering to accom- 
pany me into France, the towns we had to pass 
through being of the party of the States, we were 
everywhere quietly and honourably received. I had 
only the mortification of not being able to visit Mons, 
agreeably to my promise made to the Comtesse de 
Lalain, not passing nearer to it than Nivelle, seven 
long leagues distant from it. The Count being at 
Antwerp, and the war being hottest in the neighbour- 
hood of Mons, I thus was prevented seeing either of 
them on my return. I could only write to the Count- 
ess by a servant of the gentleman who was now my 
conductor. As soon as she learned I was at Nivelle, 
she sent some gentlemen, natives of the part of Flan- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 123 

ders I was in, with a strong injunction to see me safe 
on the frontier of France. 

I had to pass through the Cambresis, partly in fa- 
vour of Spain and partly of the States. Accordingly, 
I set out with these gentlemen, to lodge at Cateau- 
Cambresis. There they took leave of me, in order 
to return to Mons, and by them I sent the Countess a 
gown of mine, which had been greatly admired by her 
when I wore it at Mons; it was of black satin, curi- 
ously embroidered, and cost nine hundred crowns. 

When I arrived at Cateau-Cambresis, I had intelli- 
gence sent me that a party of the Huguenot troops 
had a design to attack me on the frontiers of Flanders 
and France. This intelligence I communicated to a 
few only of my company, and prepared to set off an 
hour before daybreak. When I sent for my litters 
and horses, I found much such a kind of delay from 
the Chevalier Salviati as I had before experienced at 
Liege, and suspecting it was done designedly, I left 
my litter behind, and mounted on horseback, with 
such of my attendants as were ready to follow me. 
By this means, with God's assistance, I escaped being 
waylaid by my enemies, and reached Catelet at ten in 
the morning. From there I went to my house at La 
Fere, where I intended to reside until I learned that 
peace was concluded upon. 

At La Fere I found a messenger in waiting from 
my brother, who had orders to return with all expe- 
dition, as soon as I arrived, and inform him of it. 
My brother wrote me word, by that messenger, that 
peace was concluded, and the King returned to Paris; 
that, as to himself, his situation was rather worse 
than better; that he and his people were daily receiv- 
ing some affront or other, and continual quarrels were 
excited betwixt the King's favourites and Bussi and 
my brother's principal attendants. This, he added, 



124 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

had made him impatient for my return, that he might 
come and visit me. 

I sent his messenger back, and immediately after, 
my brother sent Bussi and all his household to 
Angers, and, taking with him fifteen or twenty at- 
tendants, he rode post to me at La Fere. It was 
a great satisfaction to me to see one whom I so ten- 
derly loved and greatly honoured, once more. I con- 
sidered it amongst the greatest felicities I ever enjoyed, 
and, accordingly, it became my chief study to make 
his residence here agreeable to him. He himself 
seemed delighted with this change of situation, and 
would willingly have continued in it longer had not 
the noble generosity of his mind called him forth 
to great achievements. The quiet of our Court, when 
compared with that he had just left, affected him 
so powerfully that he could not but express the sat- 
isfaction he felt by frequently exclaiming, " Oh, 
Queen! how happy I am with you. My God! your 
society is a paradise wherein I enjoy every delight, 
and I seem to have lately escaped from hell, with all 
its furies and tortures ! *' 




LETTER XVII 

"E passed nearly two months together, which 
appeared to us only as so many days. I 
gave him an account of what I had done 
for him in Flanders, and the state in which I had left 
the business. He approved of the interview with 
the Comte de Lalain's brother in order to settle the 
plan of operations and exchange assurances. Accord- 
ingly, the Comte de Montigny arrived, with four or 
five other leading men of the county of Hainault. 
One of these was charged with a letter from M. 
d'Ainsi, offering his services to my brother, and 
assuring him of the citadel of Cambray. M. de 
Montigny delivered his brother's declaration and en- 
gagement to give up the counties of Hainault and 
Artois, which included a number of fine cities. These 
offers made and accepted, my brother dismissed them 
with presents of gold medals, bearing his and my 
effigies, and every assurance of his future favour; 
and they returned to prepare everything for his com- 
ing. In the meanwhile my brother considered on the 
necessary measures to be used for raising a suffi- 
cient force, for which purpose he returned to the 
King, to prevail with him to assist him in this enter- 
prise. 

As I was anxious to go to Gascony, I made ready 
for the journey, and set off for Paris, my brother 
meeting me at the distance of one day's journey. 

At St. Denis I was met by the King, the Queen 
my mother, Queen Louise, and the whole Court. It 

125 



126 THE MEMOIRS OF 

was at St. Denis that I was to stop and dine, and 
there it was that I had the honour of the meeting 
I have just mentioned. 

I was received very graciously, and most sump- 
tuously entertained. I was made to recount the 
particulars of my triumphant journey to Liege, and 
perilous return. The magnificent entertainments I had 
received excited their admiration, and they rejoiced 
at my narrow escapes. With such conversation I 
amused the Queen my mother and the rest of the 
company in her coach, on our way to Paris, where, 
supper and the ball being ended, I took an oppor- 
tunity, when I saw the King and the Queen my 
mother together, to address them. 

I expressed my hopes that they would not now 
oppose my going to the King my husband; that now, 
by the peace, the chief objection to it was removed, 
and if I delayed going, in the present situation of af- 
fairs, it might be prejudicial and discreditable to 
me. Both of them approved of my request, and com- 
mended my resolution. The Queen my mother added 
that she would accompany me on my journey, as it 
would be for the King's service that she did so. She 
said the King must furnish me with the necessary 
means for the journey, to which he readily assented. 
I thought this a proper time to settle everything, and 
prevent another journey to Court, which would be no 
longer pleasing after my brother left it, who was now 
pressing his expedition to Flanders with all haste. 
I therefore begged the Queen my mother to recollect 
the promise she had made my brother and me as soon 
as peace was agreed upon, which was that, before my 
departure for Gascony, I should have my marriage 
portion assigned to me in lands. She said that she 
recollected it well, and the King thought it very rea- 
sonable, and promised that it should be done. I en- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 127 

treated that it might be concluded speedily, as I wished 
to set off, with their permission, at the beginning of 
the next month. This, too, was granted me, but 
granted after the mode of the Court; that is to say, 
notwithstanding my constant solicitations, instead of 
despatch, I experienced only delay; and thus it con- 
tinued for five or six months in negotiation. 

My brother met with the like treatment, though he 
was continually urging the necessity for his setting 
out for Flanders, and representing that his expedition 
was for the glory and advantage of France, — for its 
glory, as such an enterprise would, like Piedmont, 
prove a school of war for the young nobility, wherein 
future Montlucs, Brissacs, Termes, and Bellegardes 
would be bred, all of them instructed in these wars, 
and afterwards, as field-marshals, of the greatest 
service to their country; and it would be for the ad- 
vantage of France, as it would prevent civil wars; for 
Flanders would then be no longer a country wherein 
such discontented spirits as aimed at novelty could 
assemble to brood over their malice and hatch plots 
for the disturbance of their native land. 

These representations, which were both reasonable 
and consonant with truth, had no weight when put 
into the scale against the envy excited by this ad- 
vancement of my brother's fortune. Accordingly, 
every delay was used to hinder him from collecting 
his forces together, and stop his expedition to Flan- 
ders. Bussi and his other dependents were offered a 
thousand indignities. Every stratagem was tried, by 
day as well as by night, to pick quarrels with Bussi, — 
now by Quelus, at another time by Grammont, — with 
the hope that my brother would engage in them. This 
was unknown to the King; but Maugiron, who had 
engrossed the King's favour, and who had quitted 
my brother's service, sought every means to ruin him, 



128 THE MEMOIRS OF 

as it is usual for those who have given offence to hate 
the offended party. 

Thus did this man take every occasion to brave 
and insult my brother; and relying upon the coun- 
tenance and blind affection shown him by the King, 
had leagued himself with Quelus, Saint-Luc, Saint- 
Maigrin, Grammont, Mauleon, Hivarrot, and other 
young men who enjoyed the King's favour. As those 

» who are favourites find a number of followers at 
Court, these licentious young courtiers thought they 
might do whatever they pleased. Some new dispute 
betwixt them and Bussi was constantly starting. 
Bussi had a degree of courage which knew not how 
to give way to any one; and my brother, unwilling to 
give umbrage to the King, and foreseeing that such 
proceedings would not forward his expedition, to 
avoid quarrels and, at the same time, to promote his 
plans, resolved to despatch Bussi to his duchy of 
Alengon, in order to discipline such troops as he 
should find there. My brother's amiable qualities 
excited the jealousy of Maugiron and the rest of his 
cabal about the King's person, and their dislike for 
Bussi was not so much on his own account as because 
he was strongly attached to my brother. The slights 

, and disrespect shown to my brother were remarked 
by every one at Court; but his prudence, and the 
patience natural to his disposition, enabled him to 
put up with their insults, in hopes of finishing the 
business of his Flemish expedition, which would re- 
move him to a distance from them and their machi- 
nations. This persecution was the more mortifying 
and discreditable as it even extended to his servants, 
whom they strove to injure by every means they 
could employ. M. de la Chastre at this time had a 
lawsuit of considerable consequence decided against 
him, because he had lately attached himself to my 



^tm 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 129 

brother. At the instance of Maugiron and Saint-Luc, 
the King was induced to soHcit the cause in favour 
of Madame de Senetaire, their friend. M. de la 
Chastre, being greatly injured by it, complained to 
my brother of the injustice done him, with all the 
concern such a proceeding may be supposed to have 
occasioned. 

About this time Saint-Luc's marriage was cele- 
brated. My brother resolved not to be present at it, 
and begged of me to join him in the same resolution. 
iThe Queen my mother was greatly uneasy on account 
of the behaviour of these young men, fearing that, if 
my brother did not join them in this festivity, it 
might be attended with some bad consequence, espe- 
cially as the day was likely to produce scenes of 
revelry and debauch; she, therefore, prevailed on the 
King to permit her to dine on the wedding-day at 
St. Maur, and take my brother and me with her. 
This was the day before Shrove Tuesday; and we 
returned in the evening, the Queen my mother having 
well lectured my brother, and made him consent to 
appear at the ball, in order not to displease the King. 

But this rather served to make matters worse than 
better, for Maugiron and his party began to attack 
him with such insolent speeches as would have of- 
fended any one of far less consequence. They said 
he needed not to have given himself the trouble of 
dressing, for he was not missed in the afternoon; but 
now, they supposed, he came at night at the most 
suitable time; with other allusions to the meanness 
of his figure and smallness of stature. All this was ad- 
dressed to the bride, who sat near him, but spoken 
out on purpose that he might hear it. My brother, 
perceiving this was. purposely said to provoke an 
answer and occasion his giving offence to the King, 
removed from his seat full of resentment; and, con- 



I30 THE MEMOIRS OF 

suiting with M. de la Chastre, he came to the resolu- 
tion of leaving the Court in a few days on a hunting 
party. He still thought his absence might stay their 
malice, and afford him an opportunity the more easily 
of settling his preparations for the Flemish expedition 
with the King. He went immediately to the Queen 
my mother, who was present at the ball, and was 
extremely sorry to learn what had happened, and im- 
parted her resolution, in his absence, to solicit the 
King to hasten his expedition to Flanders. M. de 
Villequier being present, she bade him acquaint the 
King with my brother's intention of taking the diver- 
sion of hunting a few days; which she thought very 
proper herself, as it would put a stop to the disputes 
which had arisen betwixt him and the young men, 
Maugiron, Saint-Luc, Quelus, and the rest. 

My brother retired to his apartment, and, consider- 
ing his leave as granted, gave orders to his domestics 
to prepare to set off the next morning for St. Ger- 
main, where he should hunt the stag for a few days. 
He directed the grand huntsman to be ready with the 
hounds, and retired to rest, thinking to withdraw 
awhile from the intrigues of the Court, and amuse 
himself with the sports of the field. M. de Villequier, 
agreeably to the command he had received from the 
Queen my mother, asked for leave, and obtained it. 
The King, however, staying in his closet, like Reho- 
boam, with his council of five or six young men, they 
suggested suspicions in his mind respecting my broth- 
er's departure from Court. In short, they worked 
upon his fears and apprehensions so greatly, that he 
took one of the most rash and inconsiderate steps that 
was ev,er decided upon in our time; which was to put 
my brother and all his principal servants under an 
arrest. This measure was executed with as much 
indiscretion as it had been resolved upon. The King, 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 131 

under this agitation of mind, late as it was, hastened 
to the Queen my mother, and seemed as if there was 
a general alarm and the enemy at the gates, for he 
exclaimed on seeing her : " How could you, Madame, 
think of asking me to let my brother go hence? Do 
you not perceive how dangerous his going will prove 
to my kingdom? Depend upon it that this hunting 
is merely a pretence to cover some treacherous de- 
sign. I am going to put him and his people under 
an arrest, and have his papers examined. I am sure 
we shall make some great discoveries." 

At the time he said this he had with him the Sieur 
de Cosse, captain of the guard, and a number of Scot- 
tish archers. The Queen my mother, fearing, from 
the King's haste and trepidation, that some mischief 
might happen to my brother, begged to go with him. 
Accordingly, undressed as she was, wrapping herself 
up in a night-gown, she followed the King to my 
brother's bedchamber. The King knocked at the 
door with great violence, ordering it to be immedi- 
ately opened, for that he was there himself. My 
brother started up in his bed, awakened by the noise, 
and, knowing that he had done nothing that he need 
fear, ordered Cange, his valet de chambre, to open the 
door. The King entered in a great rage, and asked 
him when he would have done plotting against him. 
*' But I will show you," said he, " what it is to plot 
against your sovereign." Hereupon he ordered the 
archers to take away all the trunks, and turn the va- 
lets de chamhre out of the room. He searched my 
brother's bed himself, to see if he could find any 
papers concealed in it. My brother had that evening 
received a letter from Madame de Sauves, which he 
kept in his hand, unwilling that it should be seen. 
The King endeavoured to force it from him. He 
refused to part with it, and earnestly entreated the 

Memoirs — 5 Vol. 1 



132 THE MEMOIRS OF 

King would not insist upon seeing it. This only ex- 
cited the King's anxiety the more to have it in his 
possession, as he now supposed it to be the key to 
the whole plot, and the very document which would 
at once bring conviction home to him. At length, the 
King having got it into his hands, he opened it in 
the presence of the Queen my mother, and they were 
both as much confounded, when they read the con- 
tents, as Cato was when he obtained a letter from 
Caesar, in the Senate, which the latter was unwilling 
to give up; and which Cato, supposing it to contain 
a conspiracy against the Republic, found to be no 
other than a love-letter from his own sister. 

But the shame of this disappointment served only 
to increase the King's anger, who, without conde- 
scending to make a reply to my brother, when repeat- 
edly asked what he had been accused of, gave him in 
charge of M. de Cosse and his Scots, commanding 
them not to admit a single person to speak with 
him. 

It was one o'clock in the morning when my brother 
was made a prisoner in the manner I have now 
related. He feared some fatal event might succeed 
these violent proceedings, and he was under the great- 
est concern on my account, supposing me to be under 
a like arrest. He observed M. de Cosse to be much 
affected by the scene he had been witness to, even to 
shedding tears. As the archers were in the room he 
would not venture to enter into discourse with him, 
but only asked what was become of me. M. de Cosse 
answered that I remained at full liberty. M5 brother 
then said it was a great comfort to him to hear that 
news ; " but," added he, " as I know she loves me so 
entirely that she would rather be confined with me 
than have her liberty whilst I was in confinement, I 
beg you will go to the Queen my mother, and desire 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 133 

her to obtain leave for my sister to be with me." He 
did so, and it was granted. 

The reHance which my brother displayed upon this 
occasion in the sincerity of my friendship and regard 
for him conferred so great an obligation in my mind 
that, though I have received many particular favours 
since from him, this has always held the foremost 
place in my grateful remembrance. 

By the time he had received permission for my 
being with him, daylight made its appearance. See- 
ing this, my brother begged M. de Cosse to send one 
of his archers to acquaint me with his situation, and 
beg me to come to him. 



LETTER XVIII 

I WAS ignorant of what had happened to my 
brother, and when the Scottish archer came into 
my bedchamber, I was still asleep. He drew the 
curtains of the bed, and told me, in his broken French, 
that my brother wished to see me. I stared at the 
man, half awake as I was, and thought it a dream. 
After a short pause, and being thoroughly awakened, 
I asked him if he was not a Scottish archer. He 
answered me in the affirmative. " What ! " cried I, 
" has my brother no one else to send a message by? " 
He replied he had not, for all his domestics had been 
put under an arrest. He then proceeded to relate, 
as well as he could explain himself, the events of the 
preceding night, and the leave granted my brother for 
my being with him during his imprisonment. 

The poor fellow, observing me to be much affected 
by this intelligence, drew near, and whispered me to 
this purport : " Do not grieve yourself about this 
matter; I know a way of setting your brother at 
liberty, and you may depend upon it, that I will do 
it; but, in that case, I must go off with him." I 
assured him that he might rely upon being as amply 
rewarded as he could wish for such assistance, and, 
huddling on my clothes, I followed him alone to my 
brother's apartments. In going thither, I had occa- 
sion to traverse the whole gallery, which was filled 
with people, who, at another time, would have pressed 
forward to pay their respects to me; but, now that 
Fortune seemed to frown upon me, they all avoided 
me, or appeared as if they did not see me. 

134 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 135 

Coming into my brother's apartments, I found him 
not at all affected by what had happened; for such 
was the constancy of his mind, that his arrest had 
wrought no change, and he received me with his 
usual cheerfulness. He ran to meet me, and taking 
me in his arms, he said : 

"Queen! I beg you to dry up your tears; in my 
present situation, nothing can grieve me so much as 
to find you under any concern; for my own part, I 
am so conscious of my innocence and the integrity 
of my conduct, that I can defy the utmost malice of 
my enemies. If I should chance to fall the victim of 
their injustice, my death would prove a more cruel 
punishment to them than to me, who have courage 
sufficient to meet it in a just cause. It is not death I 
fear, because I have tasted sufficiently of the calami- 
ties and evils of life, and am ready to leave this 
world, which I have found only the abode of sorrow; 
but the circumstance I dread most is, that, not finding 
me sufficiently guilty to doom me to death, I shall be 
condemned to a long, solitary imprisonment; though 
I should even despise their tyranny in that respect, 
could I but have the assurance of being comforted by 
your presence." 

These words, instead of stopping my tears, only 
served to make them stream afresh. I answered, 
sobbing, that my life and fortune were at his devo- 
tion; that the power of God alone could prevent me 
from affording him my assistance under every ex- 
tremity; that, if he should be transported from that 
place, and I should be withheld from following him, 
I would kill myself on the spot. 

Changing our discourse, we framed a number of 
conjectures on what might be the probable cause of 
the King's angry proceedings against him, but found 
ourselves at a loss what to assign them to. 



136 THE MEMOIRS OF 

Whilst we were discussing this matter the hour 
came for opening the palace gates, when a simple 
young man belonging to Bussi presented himself for 
entrance. Being stopped by the guard and questioned 
as to whither he was going, he, panic-struck, replied 
he was going to M. de Bussi, his master. This an- 
swer was carried to the King, and gave fresh grounds 
for suspicion. It seems my brother, supposing he 
should not be able to go to Flanders for some time, 
and resolving to send Bussi to his duchy of Alengon 
as I have already mentioned, had lodged him in the 
Louvre, that he might be near him to take instruc- 
tions at every opportunity. 

L'Archant, the general of the guard, had received 
the King's commands to make a search in the Louvre 
for him and Simier, and put them both under arrest. 
He entered upon this business with great unwilling- 
ness, as he was intimate with Bussi, who was accus- 
tomed to call him *' father." L'Archant, going to 
Simier's apartment, arrested him; and though he 
judged Bussi was there too, yet being unwilling to 
find him, he was going away. Bussi, however, who 
had concealed himself under the bed, as not knowing 
to whom the orders for his arrest might be given, 
finding he was to be left there^ and sensible that he 
should be well treated by L'Archant, called out to 
him, as he was leaving the room, in his droll 
manner : 

" What, papa, are you going without me ? Don't 
you think I am as great a rogue as that Simier ? " 

" Ah, son," replied L'Archant, " I would much 
rather have lost my arm than have met with you ! " 

Bussi, being a man devoid of all fear, observed that 
it was a sign that things went well with him; then, 
turning to Simier, who stood trembling with fear, he 
jeered him upon his pusillanimity. L'Archant re- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 137 

moved them both, and set a guard over them; and, in 
the next place, proceeded to arrest M. de la Chastre, 
whom he took to the Bastille. 

Meanwhile M. de I'Oste was appointed to the com- 
mand of the guard which was set over my brother. 
This was a good sort of old man, who had been ap- 
pointed governor to the King my husband, and loved 
me as if I had been his own child. Sensible of the 
injustice done to my brother and me, and lamenting 
the bad counsel by which the King was guided, and 
being, moreover, willing to serve us, he resolved to 
deliver my brother from arrest. In order to make 
his intention known to us he ordered the Scottish 
archers to wait on the stairs without, keeping only 
two whom he could trust in the room. Then taking 
me aside, he said: 

*' There is not a good Frenchman living who does 
not bleed at his heart to see what we see. I hav^ 
served the King your father, and I am ready to lay 
down my life to serve his children. I expect to have 
the guard of the Prince your brother, wherever he 
shall chance to be confined; and, depend upon it, at 
the hazard of my life, I will restore him to his lib- 
erty. But," added he, *' that no suspicions may arise 
that such is my design, it will be proper that we be 
not seen together in conversation; however, you may 
rely upon my word." 

This afforded me great consolation; and, assum- 
ing a degree of courage hereupon, I observed to 
my brother that we ought not to remain there with- 
out knowing for what reason we were detained, as 
if we were in the Inquisition; and that to treat us 
in such a manner was to consider us as persons of 
no account. I then begged M. de I'Oste to entreat 
the King, in our name, if the Queen our mother was 
not permitted to come to us, to send some one to ac- 



138 THE MEMOIRS OF 

quaint us with the crime for which we were kept in 
confinement. 

M. de Combaut, who was at the head of the young 
counsellors, was accordingly sent to us; and he, with 
a great deal of gravity, informed us that he came 
from the King to inquire what it was we wished to 
communicate to his Majesty. * We answered that we 
wished to speak to some one near the King's person, 
in order to our being informed what we were kept 
in confinement for, as we were unable to assign any 
reason for it ourselves. He answered, with great 
solemnity, that we ought not to ask of God or the 
King reasons for what they did; as all their actions 
emanated from wisdom and justice. We replied 
that we were not persons to be treated like those 
shut up in the Inquisition, who are left to guess at 
the cause of their being there. 

We could obtain from him, after all we said, no 
other satisfaction than his promise to interest himself 
in our behalf, and to do us all the service in his 
power. At this my brother broke out into a fit of 
laughter; but I confess I was too much alarmed to 
treat his message with such indifference, and could 
scarcely refrain from talking to this messenger as he 
deserved. 

Whilst he was making his report to the King, the 
Queen my mother kept her chamber, being under 
great concern, as may well be supposed, to witness 
such proceedings. She plainly foresaw, in her pru- 
dence, that these excesses would end fatally, should 
the mildness of my brother's disposition, and his re- 
gard for the welfare of the State, be once wearied 
out with submitting to such repeated acts of injus- 
tice. She therefore sent for the senior members of 
the Council, the chancellor, princes, nobles, and mar- 
shals of France, who all were greatly scandalised at 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 139 

the bad counsel which had been given to the King, 
and told the Queen my mother that she ought to re- 
monstrate with the King upon the injustice of his 
proceedings. They observed that what had been done 
could not now be recalled, but matters might yet be 
set upon a right footing. The Queen my mother 
hereupon went to the King, followed by these coun- 
sellors, and represented to him the ill consequences 
which might proceed from the steps he had taken. 

The King's eyes were by this time opened, and he 
saw that he had been ill advised. He therefore 
begged the Queen my mother to set things to rights, 
and to prevail on my brother to forget all that had 
happened, and to bear no resentment against these 
young men, but to make up the breach betwixt Bussi 
and Quelus. 

Things being thus set to rights again, the guard 
which had been placed over my brother was dis- 
missed, and the Queen my mother, coming to his 
apartment, told him he ought to return thanks to 
God for his deliverance, for that there had been a 
moment when even she herself despaired of saving 
his life; that since he must now have discovered that 
the King's temper of mind was such that he took the 
alarm at the very imagination of danger, and that, 
when once he was resolved upon a measure, no ad- 
vice that she or any other could give would prevent 
him from putting it into execution, she would rec- 
ommend it to him to submit himself to the King's 
pleasure in everything, in order to prevent the like 
in future; and, for the present, to take the earliest 
opportunity of seeing the King, and to appear as if 
he thought no more about the past. 

We replied that we were both of us sensible of 
God's great mercy in delivering us from the injus- 
tice of our enemies, and that, next to God, our great- 



I40 THE MEMOIRS OF 

est obligation was to her; but that my brother's rank 
did not admit of his being put in confinement without 
cause, and released from it again without the for- 
mality of an acknowledgment. Upon this, the Queen 
observed that it was not in the power even of God 
himself to undo what had been done; that what could 
be effected to save his honour, and give him satis- 
faction for the irregularity of the arrest, should have 
place. My brother, therefore, she observed, ought 
to strive to mollify the King by addressing him with 
expressions of regard to his person and attachment to 
his service; and, in the meantime, use his influence 
over Bussi to reconcile him to Quelus, and to end all 
disputes betwixt them. She then declared that the 
principal motive for putting my brother and his serv- 
ants under arrest was to prevent the combat for which 
old Bussi, the brave father of a brave son, had so- 
licited the King's leave, wherein he proposed to be 
his son's second, whilst the father of Quelus was to 
be his. These four had agreed in this way to deter- 
mine the matter in dispute, and give the Court no 
further disturbance. 

My brother now engaged himself to the Queen 
that, as Bussi would see he could not be permitted to 
decide his quarrel by combat, he should, in order to 
deliver himself from his arrest, do as she had 
commanded. 

The Queen my mother, going down to the King, 
prevailed with him to restore my brother to liberty 
with every honour. In order to which the King came 
to her apartment, followed by the princes, noblemen, 
and other members of the Council, and sent for us by 
M. de Villequier. As we went along we found all the 
rooms crowded with people, who, with tears in their 
eyes, blessed God for our deliverance. Coming into 
the apartments of the Queen my mother, we found 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 141 

the King attended as I before related. The King 
desired my brother not to take anything ill that had 
been done, as the motive for it was his concern for 
the good of his kingdom, and not any bad intention 
towards himself. My brother replied that he had, as 
he ought, devoted his life to his service, and, there- 
fore, was governed by his pleasure; but that he most 
humbly begged him to consider that his fidelity and 
attachment did not merit the return he had met with; 
that, notwithstanding, he should impute it entirely to 
his own ill-fortune, and should be perfectly satisfied 
if the King acknowledged his innocence. Hereupon 
the King said that he entertained not the least doubt 
of his innocence, and only desired him to believe he 
held the same place in his esteem he ever had. The 
Queen my mother then, taking both of them by the 
hand, made them embrace each other. 

Afterwards the King commanded Bussi to be 
brought forth, to make a reconciliation betwixt him 
and Quelus, giving orders, at the same time, for the 
release of Simier and M. de la Chastre. Bussi com- 
ing into the room with his usual grace, the King told 
him he must be reconciled with Quelus, and forbade 
him to say a word more concerning their quarrel. 
He then commanded them to embrace. " Sire," said 
Bussi, " if it is your pleasure that we kiss and are 
friends again, I am ready to obey your command;" 
then, putting himself in the attitude of Pantaloon, he 
went up to Quelus and gave him a hug, which set all 
present in a titter, notwithstanding they had been 
seriously affected by the scene which had passed just 
before. 

Many persons of discretion thought what had been 
done was too slight a reparation for the injuries my 
brother had received. When all was over, the King 
and the Queen my mother, coming up to me, said it 



142 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

would be incumbent on me to use my utmost endeav- 
ours to prevent my brother from calling to mind any- 
thing past which should make him swerve from the 
duty and affection he owed the King. I replied that 
my brother was so prudent, and so strongly attached 
to the King's service, that he needed no admonition 
on that head from me or any one else; and that, with 
respect to myself, I had never given him any other 
advice than to conform himself to the King's pleas- 
ure and the duty he owed him. 



LETTER XIX 

IT was now three o'clock in the afternoon, and no 
one present had yet dined. The Queen my 
mother was desirous that we should eat together, 
and, after dinner, she ordered my brother and me 
to change our dress (as the clothes we had on were 
suitable only to our late melancholy situation) and 
come to the King's supper and ball. We complied 
with her orders as far as a change of dress, but our 
countenances still retained the impressions of grief 
and resentment which we inwardly felt. 

I must inform you that when the tragi-comedy I 
have given you an account of was over, the Queen 
my mother turned round to the Chevalier de Seurre, 
whom she recommended to my brother to sleep in his 
bedchamber, and in whose conversation she some- 
times took delight because he was a man of some 
humour, but rather inclined to be cynical. 

"Well," said she, " M. de Seurre, what do you 
think of all this?" 

" Madame, I think there is too much of it for ear- 
nest, and not enough for jest." 

Then addressing himself to me, he said, but not 
loud enough for the Queen to hear him : "I do not 
believe all is over yet; I am very much mistaken if 
this young man " (meaning my brother) " rests sat- 
isfied with this." 

This day having passed in the manner before re- 
lated, the wound being only skinned over and far 
from healed, the young men about the King's person 

143 



144 THE MEMOIRS OF 

set themselves to operate in order to break it out 
afresh. 

These persons, judging of my brother by them- 
selves, and not having sufficient experience to know 
the power of duty over the minds of personages of 
exalted rank and high birth, persuaded the King, still 
connecting his case with their own, that it was impos- 
sible my brother should ever forgive the affront he 
had received, and not seek to avenge himself with the 
first opportunity. The King, forgetting the ill- 
judged steps these young men had so lately induced 
him to take, hereupon receives this new impression, 
and gives orders to the officers of the guard to keep 
strict watch at the gates that his brother go not out, 
and that his people be made to leave the Louvre every 
evening, except such of them as usually slept in his 
bedchamber or wardrobe. 

My brother, seeing himself thus exposed to the 
caprices of these headstrong young fellows, who led 
the King according to their own fancies, and fearing 
something worse might happen than what he had yet 
experienced, at the end of three days, during which 
time he laboured under apprehensions of this kind, 
came to a determination to leave the Court, and 
never more return to it, but retire to his principality 
and make preparations with all haste for his expedi- 
tion to Flanders. 

He communicated his design to me, and I approved 
of it, as I considered he had no other view in it than 
providing for his own safety, and that neither the 
King nor his government were likely to sustain any 
injury by it. 

When we consulted upon the means of its accom- 
plishment, we could find no other than his descending 
from my window, which was on the second story and 
opened to the ditch, for the gates were so closely 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 145 

watched that it was impossible to pass them, the face 
of every one going out of the Louvre being curiously 
examined. He begged of me, therefore, to procure 
for him a rope of sufficient strength and long enough 
for the purpose. This I set about immediately, for, 
having the sacking of a bed that wanted mending, 
I sent it out of the palace by a lad whom I could 
trust, with orders to bring it back repaired, and to 
wrap up the proper length of rope inside. 

When all was prepared, one evening, at supper 
time, I went to the Queen my mother, who supped 
alone in her own apartment, it being fast-day and the 
King eating no supper. My brother, who on most 
occasions was patient and discreet, spurred on by the 
indignities he had received, and anxious to extricate 
himself from danger and regain his liberty, came to 
me as I was rising from table, and whispered to me 
to make haste and come to him in my own apartment. 
M. de Matignon, at that time a marshal, a sly, cun- 
ning Norman, and one who had no love for my 
brother, whether he had some knowledge of his de- 
sign from some one who could not keep a secret, or 
only guessed at it, observed to the Queen my mother 
as she left the room (which I overheard, being near 
her, and circumspectly watching every word and mo- 
tion, as may well be imagined, situated as I was be- 
twixt fear and hope, and involved in perplexity) that 
my brother had undoubtedly an intention of with- 
drawing himself, and would not be there the next 
day; adding that he was assured of it, and she might 
take her measures accordingly. 

I observed that she was much disconcerted by this 
observation, and I had my fears lest we should be 
discovered. When we came into her closet, she drew 
me aside and asked if I heard what Matignon had 
said. 



146 THE MEMOIRS OF 

I replied : " I did not hear it, Madame, but I ob- 
serve that it has given you uneasiness." 

" Yes/' said she, " a great deal of uneasiness, for 
you know I have pledged myself to the King that 
your brother shall not depart hence, and Matignon 
has declared that he knows very well he will not be 
here to-morrow/' 

I now found myself under a great embarrassment; 
I was in danger either of proving unfaithful to my 
brother, and thereby bringing his life into jeopardy, 
or of being obliged to declare that to be truth which 
I knew to be false, and this I would have died rather 
than be guilty of. 

In this extremity, if I had not been aided by God, 
my countenance, without speaking, would plainly 
have discovered what I wished to conceal. But God, 
who assists those who mean well, and whose divine 
goodness was discoverable in my brother's escape, 
enabled me to compose my looks and suggested to me 
such a reply as gave her to understand no more than 
I wished her to know, and cleared my conscience 
from making any declaration contrary to the truth. 
I answered her in these words: 

" You cannot, Madame, but be sensible that M. de 
Matignon is not one of my brother's friends, and that 
he is, besides, a busy, meddling kind of man, who is 
sorry to find a reconciliation has taken place with us; 
and, as to my brother, I will answer for him with my 
life in case he goes hence, of which, if he had any 
design, I should, as I am well assured, not be igno- 
rant, he never having yet concealed anything he 
meant to do from me." 

All this was said by me with the assurance that, 
after my brother's escape, they would not dare to do 
me any injury; and in case of the worst, and when 
we should be discovered, I had much rather pledge 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 147 

my life than hazard my soul by a false declaration, 
and endanger my brother's life. Without scrutinis- 
ing the import of my speech, she replied : '' Remem- 
ber what you now say, — you will be bound for him 
on the penalty of your life." 

I smiled and answered that such was my intention. 
Then, wishing her a good night, I retired to my own 
bedchamber, where, undressing myself in haste and 
getting into bed, in order to dismiss the ladies and 
maids of honour, and there then remaining only my 
chamber-women, my brother came in, accompanied 
by Simier and Cange. Rising from my bed, we made 
the cord fast, and having looked out at the window to 
discover if any one was in the ditch, with the assist- 
ance of three of my women, who slept in my room, 
and the lad who had brought in the rope, we let down 
my brother, who laughed and joked upon the occasion 
without the least apprehension, notwithstanding the 
height was considerable. We next lowered Simier 
into the ditch, who was in such a fright that he 
had scarcely strength to hold the rope fast; and 
lastly descended my brother's valet de chamhre, 
Cange. 

Through God's providence my brother got off un- 
discovered, and going to Ste. Genevieve, he found 
Bussi waiting there for him. By consent of the ab- 
bot, a hole had been made in the city wall, through 
which they passed, and horses being provided and in 
waiting, they mounted, and reached Angers without 
the least accident. 

Whilst we were lowering down Cange, who, as I 
mentioned before, was the last, we observed a man 
rising out of the ditch, who ran towards the lodge 
adjoining to the tennis-court, in the direct way lead- 
ing to the guard-house. I had no apprehensions on 
my own account^ all my fears being absorbed by those 



148 THE MEMOIRS OF 

I entertained for my brother; and now I was almost 
dead with alarm, supposing this might be a spy placed 
there by M. de Matignon, and that my brother would 
be taken. Whilst I was in this cruel state of anxiety, 
which can be judged of only by those who have expe- 
rienced a similar situation, my women took a pre- 
caution for my safety and their own, which did not 
suggest itself to me. This was to burn the rope, that 
it might not appear to our conviction in case the 
man in question had been placed there to watch us. 
This rope occasioned so great a flame in burning, 
that it set fire to the chimney, which, being seen 
from without, alarmed the guard, who ran to us, 
knocking violently at the door, calling for it to be 
opened. 

I now concluded that my brother was stopped, and 
that we were both undone. However, as, by the 
blessing of God and through his divine mercy alone, 
I have, amidst every danger with which I have been 
repeatedly surrounded, constantly preserved a pres- 
ence of mind which directed what was best to be 
done, and observing that the rope was not more than 
half consumed, I told my women to go to the door, 
and speaking softly, as if I was asleep, to ask the men 
what they wanted. They did so, and the archers re- 
plied that the chimney was on fire, and they came 
to extinguish it. My women answered it was of no 
consequence, and they could put it out themselves, 
begging them not to awake me. This alarm thus 
passed off quietly, and they went away; but, in two 
hours afterward, M. de Cosse came for me to go to 
the King and the Queen my mother, to give an ac- 
count of my brother's escape, of which they had re- 
ceived intelligence by the Abbot of Ste. Genevieve. 

It seems it had been concerted betwixt my brother 
and the abbot, in order to prevent the latter from 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 149 

falling under disgrace, that, when my brother might 
be supposed to have reached a sufficient distance, the 
abbot should go to Court, and say that he had been 
put into confinement whilst the hole was being made, 
and that he came to inform the King as soon as he 
had released himself. 

I was in bed, for it was yet night; and rising 
hastily, I put on my night-clothes. One of my women 
was indiscreet enough to hold me round the waist, 
and exclaim aloud, shedding a flood of tears, that she 
should never see me more. M. de Cosse, pushing her 
away, said to me : "If I were not a person thor- 
oughly devoted to your service, this woman has said 
enough to bring you into trouble. But," continued 
he, '' fear nothing. God be praised, by this time the 
Prince your brother is out of danger." 

These words were very necessary, in the present 
state of my mind, to fortify it against the reproaches 
and threats I had reason to expect from the King. 
I found him sitting at the foot of the Queen my 
mother's bed, in such a violent rage that I am inclined 
to believe I should have felt the effects of it, had he 
not been restrained by the absence of my brother and 
my mother's presence. They both told me that I had 
assured them my brother would not leave the Court, 
and that I pledged myself for his stay. I replied that 
it was true that he had deceived me, as he had them; 
however, I was ready still to pledge my life that his 
departure would not operate to the prejudice of the 
King's service, and that it would appear he was only 
gone to his own principality to give orders and for- 
ward his expedition to Flanders. 

The King appeared to be somewhat mollified by 
this declaration, and now gave me permission to re- 
turn to my own apartments. Soon afterwards he 
received letters from my brother, containing assur- 



150 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

ances of his attachment, in the terms I had before 
expressed. This caused a cessation of complaints, but 
by no means removed the King's dissatisfaction, who 
made a show of affording assistance to his expedi- 
tion, but was secretly using every means to frustrate 
and defeat it. 



LETTER XX 

I NOW renewed my application for leave to go to 
the King my husband, which I continued to press 
on every opportunity. The King, perceiving that 
he could not refuse m^y leave any longer, was v/illing 
I should depart satisfied. He had this further view 
in complying with my wishes, that by this means he 
should withdraw me from my attachment to my 
brother. He therefore strove to oblige me in every 
way he could think of, and, to fulfil the promise made 
by the Queen my mother at the Peace of Sens, he 
gave me an assignment of my portion in territory, 
with the power of nomination to all vacant benefices 
and all offices; and^ over and above the customary 
pension to the daughters of France, he gave another 
out of his privy purse. 

He daily paid me a visit in my apartment, in which 
he took occasion to represent to me how useful his 
friendship would be to me; whereas that of my 
brother could be only injurious, — with arguments of 
the like kind. 

However, all he could say was insufficient to pre- 
vail on me to swerve from the fidelity I had vowed 
to observe to my brother. The King was able to 
draw from me no other declaration than this: that it 
ever was, and should be, my earnest wish to see my 
brother firmly established in his gracious favour, 
which he had never appeared to me to have forfeited; 
that I was well assured he would exert himself to the 
utmost to regain it by every act of duty and merito- 
rious service; that, with respect to myself, I thought 

151 



152 THE MEMOIRS OF 

I was so much obliged to him for the great honour he 
did me by repeated acts of generosity, that he might 
be assured, when I was with the King my husband 
I should consider myself bound in duty to obey all 
such commands as he should be pleased to give me; 
and that it would be my whole study to maintain the 
King my husband in a submission to his pleasure. 

My brother was now on the point of leaving 
Alengon to go to Flanders; the Queen my mother 
was desirous to see him before his departure. I 
begged the King to permit me to take the opportunity 
of accompanying her to take leave of my brother, 
which he granted; but, as it seemed, with great un- 
willingness. When we returned from Alengon, I 
solicited the King to permit me to take leave of him- 
self, as I had everything prepared for my journey. 
The Queen my mother being desirous to go to 
Gascony, where her presence was necessary for the 
King's service, was unwilling that I should depart 
without her. When we left Paris, the King accom- 
panied us on the way as far as his palace of Dolin- 
ville. There we stayed with him a few days, and 
there we took our leave, and in a little time reached 
Guienne, which belonging to, and being under the 
government of the King my husband, I was every- 
where received as Queen. My husband gave the 
Queen my mother a meeting at Reolle, which was 
held by the Huguenots as a cautionary town; and 
the country not being sufficiently quieted, she was 
permitted to go no further. 

It was the intention of the Queen my mother to 
make but a short stay; but so many accidents arose 
from disputes betwixt the Huguenots and Catholics, 
that she was under the necessity of stopping there 
eighteen months. As this was very much against 
her inclination, she was sometimes inclined to think 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 153 

there was a design to keep her, in order to have the 
company of her maids of honour. For my husband 
had been greatly smitten with Dayelle, and M. de 
Thurene was in love with La Vergne. However, I 
received every mark of honour and attention from 
the King that I could expect or desire. He related 
to me, as soon as we met, the artifices which had 
been put in practice whilst he remained at Court to 
create a misunderstanding betwixt him and me; all 
this, he said, he knew was with a design to cause a 
rupture betwixt my brother and him, and thereby 
ruin us all three, as there was an exceeding great 
jealousy entertained of the friendship which existed 
betwixt us. 

We remained in the disagreeable situation I have 
before described all the time the Queen my mother 
stayed in Gascony; but, as soon as she could re- 
establish peace, she, by desire of the King my hus- 
band, removed the King's lieutenant, the Marquis de 
Villars, putting in his place the Marechal de Biron. 
She then departed for Languedoc, and we conducted 
her to Castelnaudary ; where, taking our leave, we 
returned to Pau, in Beam; in which place, the Catho- 
lic religion not being tolerated, I was only allowed 
to have mass celebrated in a chapel of about three or 
four feet in length, and so narrow that it could 
scarcely hold seven or eight persons. During the 
celebration of mass, the bridge of the castle was 
drawn up to prevent the Catholics of the town and 
country from coming to assist at it; who having been, 
for some years, deprived of the benefit of follow- 
ing their own mode of worship, would have gladly 
been present. Actuated by so holy and laudable a 
desire, some of the inhabitants of Pau, on Whit- 
sunday, found means to get into the castle before the 
bridge was drawn up, and were present at the cele- 



154 THE MEMOIRS OF 

bration of mass, not being discovered until it was 
nearly over. At length the Huguenots espied them, 
and ran to acquaint Le Pin, secretary to the King my 
husband, who was greatly in his favour, and who 
conducted the whole business relating to the new 
religion. Upon receiving this intelligence, Le Pin 
ordered the guard to arrest these poor people, who 
were severely beaten in my presence, and afterwards 
locked up in prison, whence they were not released 
without paying a considerable fine. 

This indignity gave me great offence, as I never 
expected anything of the kind. Accordingly, I com- 
plained of it to the King my husband, begging him 
to give orders for the release of these poor Catholics, 
who did not deserve to be punished for coming to my 
chapel to hear mass, a celebration of which they had 
been so long deprived of the benefit. Le Pin, with 
the greatest disrespect to his master, took upon him 
to reply, without waiting to hear what the King, had 
to say. He told me that I ought not to trouble the 
King my husband about such matters; that what 
had been done was very right and proper; that those 
people had justly merited the treatment they met 
with, and all I could say would go for nothing, for it 
must be so; and that I ought to rest satisfied with 
being permitted to have mass said to me and my 
servants. This insolent speech from a person of his 
inferior condition incensed me greatly, and I en- 
treated the King my husband, if I had the least share 
in his good graces, to do me justice, and avenge the 
insult offered me by this low man. 

The King my husband, perceiving that I was 
offended, as I had reason to be, with this gross 
indignity, ordered Le Pin to quit our presence im- 
mediately; and, expressing his concern at his secre- 
tary's behaviour, who, he said, was overzealous in 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 155 

the cause of religion, he promised that he would 
make an example of him. As to the Catholic pris- 
oners, he said he would advise with his parliament 
what ought to be done for my satisfaction. 

Having said this, he went to his closet, where he 
found Le Pin, who, by dint of persuasion, made him 
change his resolution; insomuch that, fearing I 
should insist upon his dismissing his secretary, he 
avoided meeting me. At last, finding that I was 
firmly resolved to leave him, unless he dismissed Le 
Pin, he took advice of some persons, who, having 
themselves a dislike to the secretary, represented that 
he ought not to give me cause of displeasure for the 
sake of a man of his small importance, — especially 
one who, like him, had given me just reason to be 
offended; that, when it became known to the King 
my brother and the Queen my mother, they would 
certainly take it ill that he had not only not resented 
it, but, on the contrary, still kept him near his 
person. 

This counsel prevailed with him, and he at length 
discarded his secretary. The King, however, con- 
tinued to behave to me with great coolness, being in- 
fluenced, as he afterwards confessed, by the counsel 
of M. de Pibrac, who acted the part of a double 
dealer, telling me that I ought not to pardon an af- 
front offered by such a mean fellow, but insist upon 
his being dismissed; whilst he persuaded the King 
my husband that there was no reason for parting with 
a man so useful to him, for such a trivial cause. This 
was done by M. de Pibrac, thinking I might be in- 
duced, from such mortifications, to return to France, 
where he enjoyed the offices of president and King's 
counsellor. 

I now met with a fresh cause for disquietude in my 
present situation, for, Dayelle being gone, the King 



156 THE MEMOIRS OF 

my husband placed his affections on Rebours. She 
was an artful young person, and had no regard for 
me; accordingly, she did me all the ill offices in her 
power with him. In the midst of these trials, I put 
my trust in God, and he, moved with pity by my 
tears, gave permission for our leaving Pau, that " lit- 
tle Geneva;" and, fortunately for me, Rebours was 
taken ill and stayed behind. The King my husband 
no sooner lost sight of her than he forgot her; he 
now turned his eyes and attention towards Fos- 
sense. She was much handsomer than the other, and 
was at that time young, and really a very amiable 
person. 

Pursuing the road to Montauban, we stopped at a 
little town called Eause, where, in the night, the King 
my husband was attacked with a high fever, accom- 
panied with most violent pains in his head. This 
fever lasted for seventeen days, during which time he 
had no rest night or day, but was continually re- 
moved from one bed to another. I nursed him the 
whole time, never stirring from his bedside, and 
never putting off my clothes. He took notice of my 
extraordinary tenderness, and spoke of it to several 

persons, and particularly to my cousin M , who, 

acting the part of an affectionate relation, restored me 
to his favour, insomuch that I never stood so highly 
in it before. This happiness I had the good fortune 
to enjoy during the four or five years that I re- 
mained with him in Gascony. 

Our residence, for the most part of the time I have 
mentioned, was at Nerac, where our Court was so 
brilliant that we had no cause to regret our absence 
from the Court of France. We had with us the 
Princesse de Navarre, my husband's sister, since mar- 
ried to the Due de Bar; there were besides a number 
of ladies belonging to myself. The King my husband 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 157 

was attended by a numerous body of lords and gen- 
tlemen, all as gallant persons as I have seen in any 
Court; and we had only to lament that they were 
Huguenots. This difference of religion, however, 
caused no dispute among us; the King my husband 
and the Princess his sister heard a sermon, whilst I 
and my servants heard mass. I had a chapel in the 
park for the purpose, and, as soon as the service of 
both religions was over, we joined company in a beau- 
tiful garden, ornamented with long walks shaded with 
laurel and cypress trees. Sometimes we took a walk 
in the park on the banks of the river, bordered by an 
avenue of trees three thousand yards in length. The 
rest of the day was passed in innocent amusements; 
and in the afternoon, or at night, we commonly had a 
ball. 

The King was very assiduous with Fosseuse, who, 
being dependent on me, kept herself within the strict 
bounds of honour and virtue. Had she always done 
so, she had not brought upon herself a misfortune 
which has proved of such fatal consequence to myself 
as well as to her. 

But our happiness was too great to be of long con- 
tinuance, and fresh troubles broke out betwixt the 
King my husband and the Catholics, and gave rise to 
a new war. The King my husband and the Marechal 
de Biron, who was the King's lieutenant in Guienne, 
had a difference, which was aggravated by the Hugue- 
nots. This breach became in a short time so wide 
that all my efforts to close it were useless. They 
made their separate complaints to the King. The 
King my husband insisted on the removal of the Ma- 
rechal de Biron, and the Marshal charged the King 
my husband, and the rest of those who were of the 
pretended reformed religion, with designs contrary to 
peace. I saw, with great concern, that affairs were 



158 THE MEMOIRS OF 

likely soon to come to an open rupture; and I had no 
power to prevent it. 

The Marshal advised the King to come to Guienne 
himself, saying that in his presence matters might be 
settled. The Huguenots, hearing of this proposal, sup- 
posed the King would take possession of their towns, 
and, thereupon, came to a resolution to take up arms. 
This was what I feared; I was become a sharer in 
the King my husband's fortune, and was now to be 
in opposition to the King my brother and the religion 
I had been bred up in. I gave my opinion upon this 
war to the King my husband and his Council, and 
strove to dissuade them from engaging in it. I 
represented to them the hazards of carrying on a 
war when they were to be opposed against so able 
a general as the Marechal de Biron, who would not 
spare them, as other generals had done, he being their 
private enemy. I begged them to consider that, if the 
King brought his whole force against them, with in- 
tention to exterminate their religion, it would not be 
in their power to oppose or prevent it. But they were 
so headstrong, and so blinded with the hope of suc- 
ceeding in the surprise of certain towns in Languedoc 
and Gascony, that, though the King did me the hon- 
our, upon all occasions, to listen to my advice, as did 
most of the Huguenots, yet I could not prevail on 
them to follow it in the present situation of affairs, 
until it was too late, and after they had found, to 
their cost, that my counsel was good. The torrent 
was now burst forth, and there was no possibility 
of stopping its course until it had spent its utmost 
strength. 

Before that period arrived, foreseeing the conse- 
quences, I had often written to the King and the 
Queen my mother, to offer something to the King 
my husband by way of accommodating matters. But 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 159 

they were bent against it, and seemed to be pleased 
that matters had taken such a turn, being assured 
by Marechal de Biron that he had it in his power 
to crush the Huguenots whenever he pleased. In this 
crisis my advice was not attended to, the dissensions 
increased, and recourse was had to arms. 

The Huguenots had reckoned upon a force more 
considerable than they were able to collect together, 
and the King my husband found himself outnumbered 
by Marechal de Biron. In consequence, those of the 
pretended reformed religion failed in all their plans, 
except their attack upon Cahors, which they took with 
petards, after having lost a great number of men, — 
M. de Vezins, who commanded in the town, disputing 
their entrance for two or three days, from street to 
street, and even from house to house. The King my 
husband displayed great valour and conduct upon the 
occasion, and showed himself to be a gallant and 
brave general. Though the Huguenots succeeded 
in this attempt, their loss was so great that they 
gained nothing from it. Marechal de Biron kept 
the field, and took every place that declared for 
the Huguenots, putting all that opposed him to the 
sword. 

From the commencement of this war, the King my 
husband doing me the honour to love me, and com- 
manding me not to leave him, I had resolved to share 
his fortune, not without extreme regret, in observing 
that this war was of such a nature that I could not, 
in conscience, wish success to either side; for if the 
Huguenots got the upper hand, the religion which I 
cherished as much as my life was lost, and if the 
Catholics prevailed, the King my husband was un^ 
done. But, being thus attached to my husband, by 
the duty I owed him, and obliged by the attentions 
he was pleased to show me, I could only acquaint the 



i6o THE MEMOIRS OF 

King and the Queen my mother with the situation to 
which I was reduced^ occasioned by my advice to them 
not having been attended to. I, therefore, prayed 
them, if they could not extinguish the flames of war 
in the midst of which I was placed, at least to give 
orders to Marechal de Biron to consider the town I 
resided in, and three leagues round it, as neutral 
ground, and that I would get the King my husband 
to do the same. This the King granted me for Nerac, 
provided my husband was not there; but if he should 
enter it, the neutrality was to cease, and so to remain 
as long as he continued there. This convention was 
observed, on both sides, with all the exactness I could 
desire. However, the King my husband was not to 
be prevented from often visiting Nerac, which was 
the residence of his sister and me. He was fond of 
the society of ladies, and, moreover, was at that time 
greatly enamoured with Fosseuse, who held the place 
in his affections which Rebours had lately occupied. 
Fosseuse did me no ill offices, so that the King my 
husband and I continued to live on very good terms, 
especially as he perceived me unwilling to oppose his 
inclinations. 

Led by such inducements, he came to Nerac, once, 
with a body of troops, and stayed three days, not being 
able to leave the agreeable company he found there. 
Marechal de Biron, who wished for nothing so much 
as such an opportunity, was apprised of it, and, under 
pretence of joining M. de Cornusson, the seneschal of 
Toulouse, who was expected with a reinforcement for 
his army, he began his march; but, instead of pursu- 
ing the road^ according to the orders he had issued, he 
suddenly ordered his troops to file off towards Nerac, 
and, before nine in the morning, his whole force was 
drawn up within sight of the town, and within cannon- 
shot of it. 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS i6i 

The King my husband had received intelligence, the 
evening before, of the expected arrival of M. de 
Cornusson, and was desirous of preventing the junc- 
tion, for which purpose he resolved to attack him and 
the Marshal separately. As he had been lately joined 
by M. de La Rochefoucauld, with a corps of cavalry 
consisting of eight hundred men, formed from the 
nobility of Saintonge, he found himself sufficiently 
strong to undertake such a plan. He, therefore, set 
out before break of day to make his attack as they 
crossed the river. But his intelligence did not prove 
to be correct, for De Cornusson passed it the evening 
before. My husband, being thus disappointed in his 
design, returned to Nerac, and entered at one gate just 
as Marechal de Biron drew up his troops before the 
other. There fell so heavy a rain at that moment 
that the musketry was of no use. The King my hus- 
band, however, threw a body of his troops into a 
vineyard to stop the Marshal's progress, not being able 
to do more on account of the unfavourableness of the 
weather. 

In the meantime, the Marshal continued with his 
troops drawn up in order of battle, permitting only 
two or three of his men to advance, who challenged 
a like number to break lances in honour of their mis- 
tresses. The rest of the army kept their ground, to 
mask their artillery, which, being ready to play, they 
opened to the right and left, and fired seven or eight 
shots upon the town, one of which struck the palace. 
The Marshal, having done this, marched off, despatch- 
ing a trumpeter to me with his excuse. He ac- 
quainted me that, had I been alone, he would on no 
account have fired on the town; but the terms of 
neutrality for the town, agreed upon by the King, 
were, as I well knew, in case the King my husband 
should not be found in it, and, if otherwise, they were 



i62 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 

void. Besides which, his orders were to attack the 
King my husband wherever he should find him. 

I must acknowledge on every other occasion the 
Marshal showed me the greatest respect, and appeared 
to be much my friend. During the war my letters 
have frequently fallen into his hands, when he as con- 
stantly forwarded them to me unopened. And when- 
ever my people have happened to be taken prisoners 
by his army, they were always well treated as soon as 
they mentioned to whom they belonged. 

I answered his message by the trumpeter, saying 
that I well knew what he had done was strictly agree- 
able to the convention made and the orders he had 
received, but that a gallant officer like him would know 
how to do his duty without giving his friends cause of 
offence; that he might have permitted me the enjoy- 
ment of the King my husband's company in Nerac for 
three days, adding, that he could not attack him, in 
my presence, without attacking me; and concluding 
that, certainly, I was greatly offended by his conduct, 
and would take the first opportunity of making my 
complaint to the King my brother. 



LETTER XXI 

THE war lasted some time longer, but with dis- 
advantage to the Huguenots. The King my 
husband at length became desirous to make a 
peace. I wrote on the subject to the King and the 
Queen my mother; but so elated were they both with 
Marechal de Biron's success that they would not agree 
to any terms. 

About the time this war broke out, Cambray, which 
had been delivered up to my brother by M. d'Ainsi, 
according to his engagement with me, as I have before 
related, was besieged by the forces of Spain. My 
brother received the news of this siege at his castle of 
Plessis-les-Tours, whither he had retired after his 
return from Flanders, where, by the assistance of 
the Comte de Lalain, he had been invested with 
the government of Mons, Valenciennes, and their 
dependencies. 

My brother, being anxious to relieve Cambray, set 
about raising an army with all the expedition possible; 
but, finding it could not be accomplished very speedily, 
he sent forward a reinforcement under the command 
of M. de Balagny, to succour the place until he arrived 
himself with a sufficient force to raise the siege. 
Whilst he was in the midst of these preparations this 
Huguenot war broke out, and the men he had raised 
left him to incorporate themselves with the King's 
army, which had reached Gascony. 

My brother was now without hope of raising the 

siege, and to lose Cambray would be attended with 

163 
Memoirs— 6 Vol. 1 



i64 THE MEMOIRS OF 

the loss of the other countries he had just obtained. 
Besides, what he should regret more, such losses 
would reduce to great straits M. de Balagny and the 
gallant troops so nobly defending the place. 

His grief on this occasion was poignant, and, as his 
excellent judgment furnished him with expedients 
under all his difficulties, he resolved to endeavour to 
bring about a peace. Accordingly he despatched a 
gentleman to the King with his advice to accede to 
terms, offering to undertake the treaty himself. His 
design in offering himself as negotiator was to prevent 
the treaty being drawn out to too great a length, as 
might be the case if confided to others. It was 
necessary that he should speedily relieve Cambray, 
for M. de Balagny, who had thrown himself into the 
city as I have before mentioned, had written to him 
that he should be able to defend the place for six 
months; but, if he received no succours within that 
time, his provisions would be all expended, and he 
should be obliged to give way to the clamours of the 
inhabitants, and surrender the town. 

By God's favour, the King was induced to listen to 
my brother's proposal of undertaking a negotiation 
for a peace. The King hoped thereby to disappoint 
him in his expectations in Flanders, which he never 
had approved. Accordingly he sent word back to my 
brother that he should accept his proffer of negotiating 
a peace, and would send him for his coadjutors, M. de 
Villeroy and M. de Bellievre. The commission my 
brother was charged with succeeded, and, after a stay 
of seven months in Gascony, he settled a peace and 
left us, his thoughts being employed during the whole 
time on the means of relieving Cambray, which the 
satisfaction he found in being with us could not alto- 
gether abate. 

The peace my brother made, as I have just men- 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 165 

tioned, was so judiciously framed that it gave equal 
satisfaction to the King and the Catholics, and to the 
King my husband and the Huguenots, and obtained 
him the affections of both parties. He likewise 
acquired from it the assistance of that able general, 
Marechal de Biron, who undertook the command of 
the army destined to raise the siege of Cambray. 
The King my husband was equally gratified in the 
Marshal's removal from Gascony and having Mare- 
chal de Matignon in his place. 

Before my brother set off he was desirous to bring 
about a reconciliation betwixt the King my husband 
and Marechal de Biron, provided the latter should 
make his apologies to me for his conduct at Nerac. 
My brother had desired me to treat him with all dis- 
dain, but I used this hasty advice with discretion, con- 
sidering that my brother might one day or other re- 
pent having given it, as he had everything to hope, 
in his present situation, from the bravery of this 
officer. 

My brother returned to France accompanied by 
Marechal de Biron. By his negotiation of a peace he 
had acquired to himself great credit with both parties, 
and secured a powerful force for the purpose of rais- 
ing the siege of Cambray. But honours and success 
are followed by envy. The King beheld this acces- 
sion of glory to his brother with great dissatisfaction. 
He had been for seven months, while my brother and 
I were together in Gascony, brooding over his malice, 
and produced the strangest invention that can be 
imagined. He pretended to believe (what the King 
my husband can easily prove to be false) that I insti- 
gated him to go to war that I might procure for my 
brother the credit of making peace. This is not at 
all probable when it is considered the prejudice my 
brother's affairs in Flanders sustained by the war. 



i66 THE MEMOIRS OF 

But envy and malice are self -deceivers, and pretend 
to discover what no one else can perceive. On this 
frail foundation the King raised an altar of hatred, 
on which he swore never to cease till he had accom- 
plished my brother's ruin and mine. He had never 
forgiven me for the attachment I had discovered for 
my brother's interest during the time he was in 
Poland and since. 

Fortune chose to favour the King's animosity; for, 
during the seven months that my brother stayed in 
Gascony, he conceived a passion for Fosseuse, who 
was become the doting piece of the King my husband, 
as I have already mentioned, since he had quitted 
Rebours. This new passion in my brother had in- 
duced the King my husband to treat me with cold- 
ness, supposing that I countenanced my brother's 
addresses. I no sooner discovered this than I remon- 
strated with my brother, as I knew he would make 
every sacrifice for my repose. I begged him to give 
over his pursuit, and not to speak to her again. I 
succeeded this way to defeat the malice of my ill- 
fortune; but there was still behind another secret 
ambush, and that of a more fatal nature; for Fos- 
seuse, who was passionately fond of the King my 
husband, but had hitherto granted no favours incon- 
sistent with prudence and modesty, piqued by his 
jealousy of my brother, gave herself up suddenly to 
his will, and unfortunately became pregnant. She 
no sooner made this discovery, than she altered her 
conduct towards me entirely from what it was before. 
She now shunned my presence as much as she had 
been accustomed to seek it, and whereas before she 
strove to do me every good office with the King my 
husband, she now endeavoured to make all the mis- 
chief she was able betwixt us. For his part, he 
avoided me; he grew cold and indifferent, and since 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 167 

Fosseuse ceased to conduct herself with discretion, 
the happy moments that we experienced during the 
four or five years we were together in Gascony were 
no more. 

Peace being restored, and my brother departed for 
France, as I have already related, the King my hus- 
band and I returned to Nerac. We were no sooner 
there than Fosseuse persuaded the King my husband 
to make a journey to the waters of Aigues-Caudes, in 
Beam, perhaps with a design to rid herself of her 
burden there. I begged the King my husband to 
excuse my accompanying him, as, since the affront 
that I had received at Pau, I had made a vow never 
to set foot in Beam until the Catholic religion was 
reestablished there. He pressed me much to go with 
him, and grew angry at my persisting to refuse his 
request. He told me that his little girl (for so he 
affected to call Fosseuse) was desirous to go there on 
account of a colic, which she felt frequent returns 
of. I answered that I had no objection to his taking 
her with him. He then said that she could not go 
unless I went; that it would occasion scandal, which 
might as well be avoided. He continued to press me 
to accompany him, but at length I prevailed with him 
to consent to go without me, and to take her with 
him, and, with her, two of her companions, Rebours 
and Ville-Savin, together with the governess. They 
set out accordingly, and I waited their return at 
Baviere. 

I had every day news from Rebours, informing me 
how matters went. This Rebours I have mentioned 
before to have been the object of my husband's pas- 
sion, but she was now cast off, and, consequently, was 
no friend to Fosseuse, who had gained that place in 
his affection she had before held. She, therefore, 
strove all she could to circumvent her; and, indeed^ 



i68 THE MEMOIRS OF 

she was fully qualified for such a purpose, as she was 
a cunning, deceitful young person. She gave me to 
understand that Fosseuse laboured to do me every 
ill office in her power; that she spoke of me with the 
greatest disrespect on all occasions, and expressed 
her expectations of marrying the King herself, in case 
she should be delivered of a son, when I was to be 
divorced. She had said, further, that when the King 
my husband returned to Baviere, he had resolved to 
go to Pau, and that I should go with him, whether 
I would or not. 

This intelligence was far from being agreeable to 
me, and I knew not what to think of it. I trusted 
in the goodness of God, and I had a reliance on the 
generosity of the King my husband; yet I passed the 
time I waited for his return but uncomfortably, and 
often thought I shed more tears than they drank 
water. The Catholic nobility of the neighbour- 
hood of Baviere used their utmost endeavours to di- 
vert my chagrin, for the month or five weeks that 
the King my husband and Fosseuse stayed at Aigues- 
Caudes. 

On his return, a certain nobleman acquainted the 
King my husband with the concern I was under lest 
he should go to Pau, whereupon he did not press 
me on the subject, but only said he should have been 
glad if I had consented to go with him. Perceiving, 
by my tears and the expressions I made use of, that 
I should prefer even death to such a journey, he 
altered his intentions and we returned to Nerac. 

The pregnancy of Fosseuse was now no longer a 
secret. The whole Court talked of it, and not only 
the Court, but all the country. I was willing to pre- 
vent the scandal from spreading, and accordingly 
resolved to talk to her on the subject. With this 
resolution, I took her into my closet, and spoke to 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 169 

her thus : " Though you have for some time es- 
tranged yourself from me, and, as it has been reported 
to me, striven to do me many ill offices with the 
King my husband, yet the regard I once had for 
you, and the esteem which I still entertain for those 
honourable persons to whose family you belong, do 
not admit of my neglecting to afford you all the as- 
sistance in my power in your present unhappy situa- 
tion. I beg you, therefore, not to conceal the truth, 
it being both for your interest and mine, under whose 
protection you are, to declare it. Tell me the truth, 
and I will act towards you as a mother. You know 
that a contagious disorder has broken out in the 
place, and, under pretence of avoiding it, I will go to 
Mas-d'Agenois, which is a house belonging to the 
King my husband, in a very retired situation. I will 
take you with me, and such other persons as you shall 
name. Whilst we are there, the King will take the 
diversion of hunting in some other part of the coun- 
try, and I shall not stir thence before your delivery. 
By this means we shall put a stop to the scandalous 
reports which are now current, and which concern 
you more than myself." 

So far from showing any contrition, or returning 
thanks for my kindness, she replied, with the utmost 
arrogance, that she would prove all those to be liars 
who had reported such things of her; that, for my part, 
I had ceased for a long time to show her any marks 
of regard, and she saw that I was determined upon 
her ruin. These words she delivered in as loud a 
tone as mine had been mildly expressed; and, leaving 
me abruptly, she flew in a rage to the King my hus- 
band, to relate to him what I had said to her. He 
was very angry upon the occasion, and declared he 
would make them all liars who had laid such things 
to her charge. From that moment until the hour of 



I70 THE MEMOIRS OF 

her delivery, which was a few months after, he never 
spoke to me. 

She found the pains of labour come upon her about 
daybreak, whilst she was in bed in the chamber where 
the maids of honour slept. She sent for my physi- 
cian, and begged him to go and acquaint the King my 
husband that she was taken ill. We slept in separate 
beds in the same chamber, and had done so for some 
time. 

The physician delivered the message as he was 
directed, which greatly embarrassed my husband. 
iWhat to do he did not know. On the one hand, he 
was fearful of a discovery; on the other, he foresaw 
that, without proper assistance, there was danger of 
losing one he so much loved. In this dilemma, he 
resolved to apply to me, confess all, and implore my 
aid and advice, well knowing that, notwithstanding 
what had passed, I should be ready to do him a pleas- 
ure. Having come to this resolution, he withdrew 
my curtains, and spoke to me thus : " My dear, I 
have concealed a matter from you which I now con- 
fess. I beg you to forgive me, and to think no more 
about what I have said to you on the subject. Will 
you oblige me so far as to rise and go to Fosseuse, 
who is taken very ill? I am well assured that, in 
her present situation, you will forget everything and 
resent nothing. You know how dearly I love her, 
and I hope you will comply with my request." I 
answered that I had too great a respect for him to be 
offended at anything he should do, and that I would 
go to her immediately, and do as much for her as if 
she were a child of my own. I advised him, in the 
meantime, to go out and hunt, by which means he 
would draw away all his people, and prevent tattling. 

I removed Fosseuse, with all convenient haste, from 
the chamber in which the maids of honours were, to 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 171 

one in a more retired part of the palace, got a physi- 
cian and some women about her, and saw that she 
wanted for nothing that was proper in her situation. 
It pleased God that she should bring forth a daughter, 
since dead. As soon as she was delivered I ordered 
her to be taken back to the chamber from which she 
had been brought. Notwithstanding these precau- 
tions, it was not possible to prevent the story from 
circulating through the palace. When the King my 
husband returned from hunting he paid her a visit, 
according to custom. She begged that I might come 
and see her, as was usual with me when any one of 
my maids of honour was taken ill. By this means 
she expected to put a stop to stories to her prejudice. 
The King my husband came from her into my bed- 
chamber, and found me in bed, as I was fatigued and 
required rest, after having been called up so early. 
He begged me to get up and pay her a visit. I told 
him I went according to his desire before, when she 
stood in need of assistance, but now she wanted no 
help; that to visit her at this time would be only 
exposing her more, and cause myself to be pointed at 
by all the world. He seemed to be greatly displeased 
at what I said, which vexed me the more as I thought 
I did not deserve such treatment after what I had 
done at his request in the morning; she likewise 
contributed all in her power to aggravate matters 
betwixt him and me. 

In the meantime, the King my brother, always well 
informed of what is passing in the families of the 
nobility of his kingdom, was not ignorant of the trans- 
actions of our Court. He was particularly curious 
to learn everything that happened with us, and knew 
every minute circumstance that I have now related. 
Thinking this a favourable occasion to wreak his 
vengeance on me for having been the means of my 



172 THE MEMOIRS OF 

brother acquiring so much reputation by the peace 
he had brought about, he made use of the accident 
that happened in our Court to withdraw me from the 
King my husband, and thereby reduce me to the state 
of misery he wished to plunge me in. To this pur- 
pose he prevailed on the Queen my mother to write 
to me, and express her anxious desire to see me after 
an absence of five or six years. She added that a 
journey of this sort to Court would be serviceable to 
the affairs of the King my husband as well as my 
own; that the King my brother himself was desirous 
of seeing me, and that if I wanted money for the 
journey he would send it me. The King wrote to the 
same purpose, and despatched Manique, the steward 
of his household, with instructions to use every per- 
suasion with me to undertake the journey. The 
length of time I had been absent in Gascony, and 
the unkind usage I received on account of Fosseuse, 
contributed to induce me to listen to the proposal 
made me. 

The King and the Queen both wrote to me. I re- 
ceived three letters, in quick succession; and, that I 
might have no pretence for staying, I had the sum of 
fifteen hundred crowns paid me to defray the expenses 
of my journey. The Queen my mother wrote that she 
would give me the meeting in Saintonge, and that, if 
the. King my husband would accompany me so far, j 
she would treat with him there, and give him every 
satisfaction with respect to the King. But the King 
and she were desirous to have him at their Court, as 
he had been before with my brother; and the Mare- 
chal de Matignon had pressed the matter with the 
King, that he might have no one to interfere with 
him in Gascony. I had had too long experience of 
what was to be expected at their Court to hope much 
from all the fine promises that were made to me. I 



MARGUERITE DE VALOIS 173 

had resolved, however, to avail myself of the oppor- 
tunity of an absence of a few months, thinking it 
might prove the means of setting matters to rights. 
Besides which, I thought that, as I should take Fos- 
seuse with me, it was possible that the King's passion 
for her might cool when she was no longer in his 
sight, or he might attach himself to some other 
that was less inclined to do me mischief. 

It was with some difficulty that the King my hus- 
band would consent to a removal, so unwilling was 
he to leave his Fosseuse. He paid more attention to 
me, in hopes that I should refuse to set out on this 
journey to France; but, as I had given my word in 
my letters to the King and the Queen my mother 
that I would go, and as I had even received money 
for the purpose, I could not do otherwise. 

And herein my ill-fortune prevailed over the reluc- 
tance I had to leave the King my husband, after the 
instances of renewed love and regard which he had 
begun to show me. 



THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

AND OF 

MADAME DE POMPADOUR 



ON MADAME DE POMPADOUR 

"Madame de Pompadour was not merely a grlsette, as her 
enemies attempted to say, and as Voltaire repeated in one of 
his malicious days. She was the prettiest woman in Paris, 
splrituelle, elegant, adorned with a thousand gifts and a thousand 
talents, but with a sort of sentiment which had not the grandeur 
of an aristocratic ambition. She loved the king for himself, as 
the finest man in the kingdom, as the person who appeared to het 
the most admirable. She loved him sincerely, with a degree oi 
sentimentalism, if not with a profound passion. Her ideal had 
been on arriving at the court to fascinate him, to keep him 
amused by a thousand diversions suggested by art or intellect, 
to make him happy and contented in a circle of ever-changing 
enchantments and pleasures. A Watteau-like country, plays, 
comedies, pastorals in the shade, a continual embarking for 
Cytherea, that would have been the setting she preferred. But 
once she had set foot on the shifting soil of the court, she could 
only realize her ideal imperfectly. Naturally obliging and good- 
hearted, she had to face enmity open and concealed, and to take 
the offensive to avoid her downfall. Necessity drove her into 
politics, and to become a minister of state. Madame de Pom- 
padour can be considered as the last king's mistress, deserving 
of the name. The race of the royal mistresses can then be said, 
if not ended, to have been at least greatly broken. And Madame 
de Pompadour remains in our eyes the last in our history, and 

the most brilliant." 

Sainte-Bexjve. 



I 



INTRODUCTION 

It is one of the oldest of truisms that truth is 
stranger than fiction. The present volume is but an- 
other striking example in point. The legend of King 
Cophetua and the Beggar Maid palls before the his- 
toric story of a certain Jeanne Poisson, an obscure 
French girl who won a king's favor and wielded his 
sceptre for twenty years. We do not hear anything 
further from the Beggar Maid, after she became queen; 
but the famous Pompadour became the most powerful 
figure of her day in all France, not excepting the king 
himself. 

These veritable Memoirs of her reign are ascribed 
to her attendant, Madame du Hausset, a woman of 
good family and, above all, of good memory, who has 
here given us a faithful account of her remarkable 
subject. , Her opportunities for exact knowledge may 
be gathered from her mistress's own words : " The 
king and I trust you so completely that we look upon 
you as we might a cat or a dog, and talk ahead with 
as much freedom as though you were not there." And 
the critic, Sainte-Beuve, adds: "When the destiny of 
a nation is in a woman's bedroom, the best place for 
the historian is in the ante-chamber. Madame du 
Hausset seemed created for this role of a Suetonius 
by her position and her character. . . .A good 
woman, furthermore, incapable of lying, and remain- 
ing on the whole quite respectable." 

After the death of Madame de Pompadour, the 
journal of this waiting-woman fell into the hands of 
M. de Marigny, brother of the favorite, with whom 

179 



i8o INTRODUCTION 

it remained in manuscript form for some years. It 
was finally published, in 1802, ostensibly as *' Drawn 

from the Portfolio of the Marechale D by Sou- 

lavie " ; but the French editors, ]\IM. Vitrac and 
Galopin, assert that Soulavie only lent his name to 
the work. They also call attention to the fact that 
a History of Madame de Pompadour, by Mile. Fouque, 
was published in London, as early as 1759. But no 
such general history, or biography, could possibly have 
the intimate value of a document written at the closest 
range of its subject. " These Memoirs," say the 
French editors, " give a faithful portrait of Madame 
de Pompadour. . . . They are clearly hostile, as are 
nearly all documents preserved about her; for it was 
one of the evil fortunes of Madame de Pompadour to 
be made known to us chiefly through her enemies, 
D'Argenson, the Due de Luynes, and Richelieu." 

The above opinion sums up neatly the consensus of 
historical opinion concerning this famous woman. She 
has, indeed, been in the hands of her enemies, ever 
since the day of her death, in 1764. But this fact 
is not surprising. The mistress of a weak monarch, 
she made use of her large influence over him to 
further her own ends and appoint her own ministers 
to power. She was, in fact, " the King." Michelet, 
the historian, asserts in so many words that she 
" reigned twenty years," and he admits that " although 
of mean birth, she had some patriotic ideas." How- 
ever, leaving the question of her political career aside, 
for the moment, the reader will be interested to make 
the acquaintance of this remarkable woman, herself. 
Who was she? What was the secret of her long con- 
tinued hold upon the King? Louis XV. was a noto- 
riously fickle monarch, whose many amours have 
become a part of history. But none exercised the in- 
fluence over him — and over all France, through him — 



INTRODUCTION i8i 

as did this person of " mean birth." Even her enemies 
have had to admit her wonderful executive ability, in 
addition to her womanly charms. These Memoirs, 
though rambling and without strict sequence, answer 
our many questions interestingly. They have been 
written, very evidently, by an inmate of the house- 
hold. They give, in addition, much of the secret his- 
tory of the Court at this important period, and point 
out, to the discerning reader, a few of the chief causes 
which were to make possible the French Revolution, at 
the century's close. 

Madame de Pompadour's elevation to power was 
the result neither of chance nor of romance. It was 
brought about by a carefully laid plan, on the part 
of her parents and certain scheming politicians, to 
make use of a beautiful girl to advance their own 
interests. Jeanne Poisson was born in 1722, and at 
an early age gave evidence of such unusual qualities, 
that her mother and her guardian, M. Le Normant de 
Tournehem (who also is believed to be her father), 
devoted their energies to making her worthy of a 
place at court. She had a fine natural talent for music, 
drawing, and engraving — some excellent examples of 
her work in the latter field still being preserved — and 
she united with these a rare physical beauty. M. 
Leroy, Keeper of the Park of Versailles, thus describes 
her at the time of her meeting with the King : " She 
was taller than the average, graceful, supple, and ele- 
gant. Her features comported well with her stature, 
a perfect oval face, framed by beautiful hair of a light 
shade, large eyes marked by eyebrows of the same hue, 
a perfect nose, a charming mouth, teeth of exceptional 
beauty displayed in a delicious smile, the rarest of 
complexions," etc., etc. He continues his superlative 
adjectives, indicating that the King was not the only 
susceptible person in the Park, finally adding: *' The 



i82 INTRODUCTION 

features of the Marquise were lighted by the play of 
infinite variety, but never could one perceive any dis- 
cordance. All was harmony and grace." Truly, a 
worthy portrait of a famous beauty! 

At the age of nineteen. Mile. Poisson gave her 
hand to a kinsman of her guardian, M. Le Normant 
d'Etoiles. The marriage seems to have been the result 
of a sincere passion on his part, but was looked upon 
merely as a matter of convenience by everybody else; 
for not long thereafter we find her luring the King 
with her " delicious smile," while he was hunting in 
the forest of Senart; and in 1745 she was formally in- 
stalled at Court, under the title of the Marquise de 
Pompadour. This story, unadorned, may sound pal- 
try, even commercial, but we should not fall into the 
error of judging it by twentieth century standards. 
The morals of the French Court, never austere, were 
especially lax in the reign of Louis XV., and galan- 
teries were the fashion, rather than the exception; 
while for the post of King's favorite there was a 
continual rivalry among high-born dames. 

Once in this coveted position, the Marquise devoted 
her energies to two things, and these she kept ever 
before her,- — the pleasing of her royal master, and the 
furthering of her party's interests. How well she suc- 
ceeded, this book shows. She entertained and amused 
the King by elaborate pageants, in the various cha- 
teaux which she built, or remodelled. Bellevue, Choisy, 
the Hermitage at Versailles, Menars, La Celle, Montre- 
tout,— these are among the monuments of her lavish 
career, and in these palaces she accumulated costly art 
objects, such as the Saxe porcelains, the Boulle mar- 
bles, and the sumptuous hangings and fittings which 
have later been known as " Pompadour." Herself an 
artist and connoisseur, she '^ set the pace " during a 
period of unbridled luxury. She was patroness of the 



INTRODUCTION 183 

famous Sevres ware. She drew around her such 
painters and Htterateurs as Bouchardon, Carle Van 
Loo, Marmontel, Bernis, Crebillon, and Duclos. To 
her Voltaire dedicated his Tancrede. 

This was her brilliant side; but upon the deplorable 
side must be reckoned her extravagance and her med- 
dling in statecraft. Ambitious for power, she sur- 
rounded the doting monarch with her " creatures " — ■ 
Rouille, Saint Florentin, Puisieux, Machault. With 
the exception of the Due de Choiseul, her appointees 
were notoriously weak — and this at a time when the 
War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' 
War called for strong government. Won over by the 
cajoleries of Maria Theresa, who called her " cousin," 
she induced the King to accept the Austrian Alliance; 
and again, in 1758, despite Bernis and other ministers, 
she prevailed upon him to maintain it throughout the 
disastrous war which was only ended by the Treaty 
of Paris. In addition to this, she became embroiled 
with the Church party, being especially bitter against 
the Jesuits. It is no wonder, therefore, that she left 
her memory in the hands of her enemies. It is no 
wonder that the seeds of her folly and extravagance, 
as well as those of her successor, Du Barry, resulted 
in the bloody harvest of the Revolution. *' Apres nous 
le deluge! " (" After us the deluge ") was her sinister 
motto, now famous in history, and it carried with it 
the weight of prophecy. 

To the end she remained, exteriorally, in full power. 
In 1752 the Marquise was made Duchesse de Pompa- 
dour; and four years later " Dame d'Honneur " to the 
Queen, a title of charmingly unconscious irony! The 
day of her demise (1764) was stormy, and the King 
is said to have been genuinely grieved over the loss, 
remarking : " Madame la Marquise has ill weather for 
her journey." 



i84 INTRODUCTION 

But to the last she herself was charming, debon- 
naire, masterful. She had smiled her way into power, 
and she smiled even in the face of death. " She felt 
it a duty to maintain to the end the pose of elegance 
which she had established for herself," say her French 
critics. " For the last time she applied the touch of 
rouge to her cheeks, by which she had hidden^ for 
several years, the slow ravages of decay; set her lips 
in a final smile; and with the air of a coquette uttered 
to the priest, who extended to her the last rites of reli- 
gion, this laughing quip (mot d' elegance) : " Attendez- 
moi, monsieur le cure, nous partirons ensemble " 
("Wait a moment, monsieur, and we will set forth 
together"). 



I 



THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

AND OF 

MADAME DE POMPADOUR 

SECTION I 

A N early friend of mine, who married well at 
/-\ Paris, and who has the reputation of being a 
■^ -^ very clever woman, has often asked me to 
write down what daily passed under my notice; to 
please her, I made little notes, of three or four lines 
each, to recall to my memory the most singular or 
interesting facts; as, for instance — attempt to assas- 
sinate the King; he orders Madame de Pompadour 
to leave the Court; M. de Machaulfs ingratitude, etc, 
I always promised my friend that I would, some time 
or other, reduce all these materials into the form of a 
regular narrative. She mentioned the " Recollections 
of Madame de Caylus," which were, however, not 
then printed; and pressed me so much to produce 
a similar work, that I have taken advantage of a few 
leisure moments to write this, which I intend to give 
her, in order that she may arrange it and correct the 
style. I was for a long time about the person of 
Madame de Pompadour, and my birth procured for 
me respectful treatment from herself, and from some 
distinguished persons who conceived a regard for me. 
I soon became the intimate friend of Doctor Quesnay, 
who frequently came to pass two or three hours 
with me. 

185 



i86 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

His house was frequented by people of all parties, 
but the number was small, and restricted to those 
who were on terms of greatest intimacy with him. 
All subjects were handled with the utmost freedom, 
and it^is infinitely to his honour and theirs' that 
nothing was ever repeated. 

The Countess D also visited me. She was a 

frank and lively woman, and much liked by Madame 
de Pompadour. The^Baschi family paid me great 
attention. M. de Marigny had received some little 
services from me, in the course of the frequent quar- 
rels between him and his sister, and he had a great 
friendship for me. The King was in the constant 
habit of seeing me; and an accident, which I shall 
have occasion to relate, rendered him very familiar 
with me. He talked without any constraint when I 
was in the room. During Madame de Pompadour's 
illness I scarcely ever left her chamber, and passed 
the night there. Sometimes, though rarely, I accom- 
panied her in her carriage with Doctor Quesnay, to 
whom she scarcely spoke a word, though he was a 
man of great talents. When I was alone with her, 
she talked of many affairs which nearly concerned 
her, and she once said to me, " The King and I have 
such implicit confidence in you, that we look upon 
you as a cat, or a dog, and go on talking as if you 
were not there." There was a little nook, adjoin- 
ing her chamber, which has since been altered, where 
she knew I usually sat when I was alone, and where 
I heard everything that was said in the room, unless 
it was spoken in a low voice. But when the King^ 
wanted to speak to her in private, or in the presence 
of any of his Ministers, he went with her into a 
closet, by the side of the chamber, whither she also 
retired when she had secret business with the Min- 
isters, or with other important persons; as, for 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 187 

instance, the Lieutenant of Police, the Postmaster- 
General, etc. All these circumstances brought to 
my knowledge a great many things which probity 
will neither allow me to tell or to record. I gener- 
ally wrote without order of time, so that a fact may 
be related before others which preceded it. Madame 
de Pompadour had a great friendship for three Min- 
isters ; the first was M. de Machault, to whom she 
was indebted for the regulation of her income, and 
the payment of her debts. She gave him the seals, 
and he retained the first place in her regard till the 
attempt to assassinate the King. Many people said 
that his conduct on that occasion was not attributable 
to bad intentions; that he thought it his duty to obey 
the King without making himself in any way a party 
to the affair, and that his cold manners gave him the 
appearance of an indifference which he did not feel. 
Madame de Pompadour regarded him in the light of 
a faithless friend; and, perhaps, there was some jus- 
tice on both sides. But for the Abbe de Bernis, M. 
de Machault might, probably, have retained his place. 
The second Minister, whom Madame de Pompadour 
liked, was the Abbe de Bernis. She was soon dis- 
gusted with him when she saw the absurdity of his 
conduct. He gave a singular specimen of this on the 
very day of his dismissal. He had invited a great 
many people of distinction to a splendid entertain- 
ment, which was to have taken place on the very day 
when he received his order of banishment, and had 
written in the notes of invitation — M. Le Comte de 
Lusace will he there. This Count was the brother of 
the Dauphine, and this mention of him was deserv- 
edly thought impertinent. The King said, wittily 
enough, ''Lambert and Moliere will be there f' She 
scarcely ever spoke of the Cardinal de Bernis after 
his dismissal from the Court. 



i88 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

He was extremely ridiculous, but he was a good 
sort of man. Madame, the Infanta, died a little time 
before, and, by the way, of such a complication of 
putrid and malignant diseases, that the Capuchins 
who bore the body, and the men who committed it 
to the grave, were overcome by the efSuvia. Her 
papers appeared no less impure in the eyes of the 
King. He discovered that the Abbe de Bernis had 
been intriguing with her, and that they had deceived 
him, and had obtained the Cardinal's hat by making 
use of his name. The King was so indignant that he 
was very near refusing him the barrette. He did 
grant it — but just as he would have thrown a bone to 
a dog. The Abbe had always the air of a protege 
when he was in the company of Madame de Pompa- 
dour. She had known him in positive distress. The 
Due de Choiseul was very differently situated; his 
birth, his air, his manners, gave him claims to con- 
sideration, and he far exceeded every other man in 
the art of ingratiating himself with Madame de Pom- 
padour. She looked upon him as one of the most 
illustrious nobles of the Court, as the most able 
Minister, and the most agreeable man. M. de Choi- 
seul had a sister and a wife, whom he had introduced 
to her, and who sedulously cultivated her favourable 
sentiments towards him. From the time he was 
Minister, she saw only with his eyes; he had the 
talent of amusing her, and his manners to women, 
generally, were extremely agreeable. 

Two persons — the Lieutenant of Police and the 
Postmaster-General — were very much in Madame 
de Pompadour's confidence; the latter, however, be- 
came less necessary to her from the time that the 
King communicated to M. de Choiseul the secret of 
the post-office, that is to say, the system of opening 
letters and extracting matter from them: this had 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 189 

never been imparted to M. d'Argenson, in spite of the 
high favour he enjoyed. I have heard that M. de 
Choiseul abused the confidence reposed in him, and 
related to his friends the ludicrous stories, and the 
love affairs contained in the letters which were 
broken open. The plan they pursued, as I have 
heard, was very simple. Six or seven clerks of the 
post-office picked out the letters they were ordered to 
break open, and took the impression of the seals with 
a ball of quicksilver. Then they put each letter, 
with the seal downwards, over a glass of hot water, 
which melted the wax without injuring the paper. 
It was then opened, the desired matter extracted, and 
it was sealed again, by means of the impression. 
This is the account of the matter I have heard. 
The Postmaster-General carried the extracts to the 
King on Sundays. He was seen coming and going 
on this noble errand as openly as the Ministers. 
Doctor Quesnay often, in my presence, flew in such a 
rage about that infamous Minister, as he called him, 
that he foamed at the mouth. " I would as soon 
dine with the hangman as with the Postmaster- 
General," said the Doctor. It must be acknowl- 
edged that this was astonishing language to be 
uttered in the apartments of the King's mistress; 
yet it went on for twenty years without being talked 
of. " It was probity speaking with earnestness," said 
M. de Marigny, " and not a mere burst of spite or 
malignity." 

The Due de Gontaut was the brother-in-law and 
friend of M. de Choiseul, and was assiduous in his 
attendance on Madame de Pompadour. The sister of 
M. de Choiseul, Madame de Grammont, and his wife 
were equally constant in their attentions. This will 
sufficiently account for the ascendency of M. de 
Choiseul, whom nobody would have ventured to 



I90 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

attack. Chance, however, discovered to me a secret 
correspondence of the King, with a man in a very- 
obscure station. This man, who had a place in the 
Farmers General, of from two to three hundred a 
year, was related to one of the young ladies of the 
Parc-aux-cerfs, by whom he was recommended to the 
King. He was also connected in some way with M. 
de Broglie, in whom the King placed great confi- 
dence. Wearied with finding that this correspond- 
ence procured him no advancement, he took the 
resolution of writing to me, and requesting an inter- 
view, which I granted, after acquainting Madame de 
Pompadour with the circumstance. After a great 
deal of preamble and of flattery, he said to me, " Can 
you give me your word of hour, and that of 
Madame de Pompadour, that no mention whatever 
of what I am going to tell you will be made to the 
King?" "I think I can assure you that, if you 
require such a promise from Madame de Pompadour, 
and if it can produce no ill consequence to the King's 
service, she will give it you." He gave me his word 
that what he requested would have no bad effect; 
upon which I listened to what he had to say. He 
shewed me several memorials, containing accusations 
of M. de Choiseul, and revealed some curious circum- 
stances relative to the secret functions of the Comte 
de Broglie. These, however, led rather to conjec- 
tures than to certainty, as to the nature of the 
services he rendered to the King. Lastly, he shewed 
me several letters in the King's handwriting. " I 
request," said he, " that the Marquise de Pompadour 
will procure for me the place of Receiver-General of 
Finances; I will give her information of whatever 
I send the King; I will write according to her 
instructions, and I will send her his answers." As I 
did not choose to take liberties with the King's 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 191 

papers, I only undertook to deliver the memorials. 
Madame de Pompadour having given me her word 
according to the conditions on which I had received 
the communication, I revealed to her everything I 
had heard. She sent the memorials to M. de 
Choiseul, who thought them very maliciously and 
very cleverly written. Madame de Pompadour and 
he had a long conference as to the reply that was to 
be given to the person by whom those disclosures 
were made. What I was commissioned to say was 
this : that the place of Receiver-General was at 
present too important, and would occasion too much 
surprise and speculation; that it would not do to go 
beyond a place worth fifteen thousand to twenty 
thousand francs a year; that they had no desire to 
pry into the King's secrets; and that his correspond- 
ence ought not to be communicated to any one; that 
this did not apply to papers like those of which I was 
the bearer, which might fall into his hands; that he 
would confer an obligation by communicating them, 
in order that blows aimed in the dark, and directed 
by malignity and imposture, might be parried. The 
answer was respectful and proper, in what related to 
the King; it was, however, calculated to counteract 
the schemes of the Comte de Broglie, by making M. 
de Choiseul acquainted with his attacks, and with the 
nature of the weapons he employed. It was from 
the Count that he received statements relating to the 
war and to the navy; but he had no communication 
with him concerning foreign affairs, which the Count, 
as it was said, transacted immediately with the 
King. The Due de Choiseul got the man who spoke 
to me recommended to the Controller-General, with- 
out his appearing in the business; he had the place 
which was agreed upon, and the hope of a still 
better, and he entrusted to me the King's cor re- 



192 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

spondence, which I told him I should not mention to 
Madame de Pompadour, according to her injunctions. 
He sent several memorials to M. de Choiseul, con- 
taining accusations of him, addressed to the King. 
This timely information enabled him to refute them 
triumphantly. 

The King was very fond of having little private 
correspondences, very often unknown to Madame de 
Pompadour: she knew, however, of the existence of 
some, for he passed part of his mornings in writing 
to his family, to the King of Spain, to Cardinal 
Tencin, to the Abbe de Broglie, and also to some 
obscure persons. " It is, doubtless, from such people 
as these,'' said she to me, one day, " that the King 
learns expressions which perfectly surprise me. For 
instance, he said to me yesterday, when he saw a man 
pass with an old coat on, ' il y a la un habit bien exa- 
mine/ He once said to me, when he meant to express 
that a thing was probable, ' il y a gros'; I am told 
this is a saying of the common people, meaning, il y a 
gros a parier" I took the liberty to say, " But is it 
not more likely from his young ladies at the Pare, 
that he learns these elegant expressions?" She 
laughed, and said, " You are right ; il y a gros/' The 
King, however, used these expressions designedly, and 
with a laugh. 

The King knew a great many anecdotes, and there 
were people enough who furnished him with such as 
were likely to mortify the self-love of others. One 
day, at Choisy, he went into a room where Some 
people were employed about embroidered furniture, 
to see how they were going on; and looking out of 
the window, he saw at the end of a long avenue two 
men in the Choisy uniform. " Who are those two 
noblemen ? " said he. Madame de Pompadour took 
up her glass, and said, " They are the Due d'Aumont, 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 193 

and ." "Ah!" said the King; "the Due 

d'Aumont's grandfather would be greatly astonished 
if he could see his grandson arm in arm with the 

grandson of his valet de Chamhre, L , in a dress 

which may be called a patent of nobility! " He went 
on to tell Madame de Pompadour a long history, to 
prove the truth of what he said. The King went out 
to accompany her into the garden; and, soon after, 
Quesnay and M. de Marigny came in. I spoke with 
contempt of some one who was very fond of money. 
At this the Doctor laughed, and said, " I had a curi- 
ous dream last night : I was in the country of the 
ancient Germans; I had a large house, stacks of corn, 
herds of cattle, a great number of horses, and huge 
barrels of ale; but I suffered dreadfully from rheu- 
matism, and knew not how to manage to go to a 
fountain, at fifty leagues' distance, the waters of 
which would cure me. I was to go among a strange 
people. An enchanter appeared before me, and said 
to me, * I pity your distress ; here, I will give you a 
little packet of the powder of prelinpinpin; whoever 
receives a little of this from you will lodge you, feed 
you, and pay you all sorts of civilities.' I took the 
powder, and thanked him." " Ah ! " said I, " how 
I should like to have some powder of prelinpinpin! 
I wish I had a chest full." " Well," said the Doctor, 
" that powder is money, for which you have so great 
a contempt. Tell me who, of all the men who come 
hither, receives the greatest attentions ? " "I do not 
know," said I. " Why," said he, " it is M. de Mon- 
martel, who comes four or five times a year." " Why 
does he enjoy so much consideration ? " " Because 
his coffers are full of the powder of prelinpinpin. 
Everything in existence," said he, taking a handful 
of louis from his pocket, " is contained in these little 
pieces of metal, which will convey you commodiously 



194 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

from one end of the world to the other. All men 
obey those who possess this powder, and eagerly- 
tender them their services. To despise money, is to 
despise happiness, liberty, in short, enjoyments of 
every kind." A cordon bleu passed under the window. 
" That nobleman," said I, " is much more delighted 
with his cordon bleu than he would be with ten thou- 
sand of your pieces of metal." " When I ask the 
King for a pension," replied Quesnay, " I say to him, 
* Give me the means of having a better dinner, a 
warmer coat, a carriage to shelter me from the 
weather, and to transport me from place to place 
without fatigue.' But the man who asks him for 
that fine blue ribbon would say, if he had the courage 
and the honesty to speak as he feels, ' I am vain, and 
it will give me great satisfaction to see people look at 
me, as I pass, with an eye of stupid admiration, and 
make way for me; I wish, when I enter a room, to 
produce an effect, and to excite the attention of those 
who may, perhaps, laugh at me when I am gone; I 
wish to be called Monseigneur by the multitude.' Is 
not all this mere empty air? In scarcely any coun- 
try will this ribbon be of the slightest use to him; it 
will give him no power. My pieces of metal will give 
me the power of assisting the unfortunate everywhere. 
Long live the omnipotent powder of prelinpinpin! " 
At these last words, we heard a burst of laughter 
from the adjoining room, which was only separated 
by a door from the one we were in. The door opened, 
and in came the King, Madame de Pompadour, and 
M. de Gontaut. " Long live the powder of prelinpin- 
pin!'' said the King. "Doctor, can you get me any 
of it?" It happened that, when the King returned 
from his walk, he was struck with a fancy to listen 
to our conversation. Madame de Pompadour was 
extremely kind to the Doctor, and the King went out 




Madame de Pompadour learns of the likelihood of her success 
in meeting her admirer, the King. 

—p. 182 
From the painting by Casanova y Estorach. 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOURj 195 

laughing, and talking with great admiration of the 
powder. I went away, and so did the Doctor. I 
immediately sat down to commit this conversation 
to writing. I was afterwards told that M. Quesnay 
was very learned in certain matters relating to finance, 
and that he was a great economiste. But I do not 
know very well what that means. What I do know 
for certain is, that he was very clever, very gay and 
witty, and a very able physician. 

The illness of the little Duke of Burgundy, whose 
intelligence was much talked of, for a long time 
occupied the attention of the Court. Great endeav- 
ours were made to find out the cause of his malady, 
and ill-nature went so far as to assert that his nurse, 
who had an excellent situation at Versailles, had 
communicated to him a nasty disease. The King 
shewed Madame de Pompadour the information he 
had procured from the province she came from, as to 
her conduct. A silly Bishop thought proper to say 
she had been very licentious in her youth. The poor 
nurse was told of this, and begged that he might be 
made to explain himself. The Bishop replied, that 
she had been at several balls in the town in which 
she lived, and that she had gone with her neck 
uncovered. The poor man actually thought this the 
height of licentiousness. The King, who had been at 
first uneasy, when he came to this, called out, '' What 
a fool! " After having long been a source of anxiety 
to the Court, the Duke died. Nothing produces a 
stronger impression upon Princes, than the spectacle 
of their equals dying. Everybody is occupied about 
them while ill — but as soon as they are dead, nobody 
mentions them. The King frequently talked about 
death — and about funerals, and places of burial. 
Nobody could be of a more melancholy temperament. 
Madame de Pompadour once told me that he experi- 

Memoirs — 7 Vol. 1 



196 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

enced a painful sensation whenever he was forced tO' 
laugh, and that he had often begged her to break off 
a droll story. He smiled, and that was all. In gen- 
eral, he had the most gloomy ideas concerning almost 
all events. When there was a new Minister, he used 
to say, ^' He displays his wares like all the rest, and 
promises the finest things in the world, not one of 
which will be fulfilled. He does not know this coun- 
try — he will see!' When new projects for reinforc- 
ing the navy were laid before him, he said, " This is 
the twentieth time I have heard this talked of — France 
never will have a navy, I think." This I heard from 
M. de Marigny. 

I never saw Madame de Pompadour so rejoiced as 
at the taking of Mahon. The King was very glad, 
too, but he had no belief in the merit of his courtiers 
— ^he looked upon their success as the effect of chance. 
Marechal Saxe was, as I have been told, the only man 
who -inspired him with great esteem. But he had 
scarcely ever seen him in his closet, or playing the 
courtier. 

M. d'Argenson picked a quarrel with M. de Riche- 
lieu, after his victory, about his return to Paris. This 
was intended to prevent his coming to enjoy his tri- 
umph. He tried to throw the thing upon Madame de 
Pompadour, who was enthusiastic about him, and 
called him by no other name than the " Minorcan/' 
The Chevalier de Montaign was the favourite of the 
Dauphin, and much beloved by him for his great 
devotion. He fell ill, and underwent an operation 
called Vempieme, which is performed by making an 
incision between the ribs, in order to let out the pus; 
it had, to all appearance, a favourable result, but the 
patient grew worse, and could not breathe. His med- 
ical attendants could not conceive what occasioned 
this accident and retarded his cure. He died almost 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 197 

in the arms of the Dauphin, who went every day to 
see him. The singularity of his disease determined 
the surgeons to open the body, and they found, in his 
chest, part of the leaden syringe with which decoc- 
tions had, as was usual, been injected into the part in 
a state of suppuration. The surgeon, who committed 
this act of negligence, took care not to boast of his 
feat, and his patient was the victim. This incident 
was much talked of by the King, who related it, I 
believe, not less than thirty times, according to his 
custom; but what occasioned still more conversation 
about the Chevalier de Montaign, was a box, found 
by his bed's side, containing haircloths, and shirts, 
and whips, stained with blood. This circumstance 
was spoken of one evening at supper, at Madame de 
Pompadour's, and not one of the guests seemed at all 
tempted to imitate the Chevalier. Eight or ten days 
afterwards, the following tale was sent to the King, 
to Madame de Pompadour, to the Baschi, and' to the 
Due d'Ayen. At first nobody could understand to 
what it referred: at last, the Due d'Ayen exclaimed. 
" How stupid we are; this is a joke on the austerities 
of the Chevalier de Montaign ! " This appeared clear 
enough — so much the more so, as the copies were 
sent to the Dauphin, the Dauphine, the Abbe de St. 

Cyr, and to the Due de V . The latter had the 

character of a pretender to devotion, and, in his copy, 
there was this addition, " You would not he such a 
fool, my dear Duke, as to he a faquir — confess that 
you would he very glad to he one of those good monks 
who lead such a jolly life." The Due de Richelieu 
was suspected of having employed one of his wits to 
write the story. The King was scandalised at it, and 
ordered the Lieutenant of Police to endeavour to find 
out the author, but either he could not succeed or he 
would not betray him. 



198 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

Japanese Tale. 

At a distance of three leagues from the capital of 
Japan, there is a temple celebrated for the concourse 
of persons, of both sexes, and of all ranks, who crowd 
thither to worship an idol believed to work miracles. 
Three hundred men consecrated to the service of 
^ religion, and who can give proofs of ancient and 
illustrious descent, serve this temple, and present to 
the idol the offerings which are brought from all the 
provinces of the empire. They inhabit a vast and 
magnificent edifice, belonging to the temple, and sur- 
rounded with gardens where art has combined with 
nature to produce enchantment. I obtained permis- 
sion to see the temple, and to walk in the gardens. 
A monk advanced in years, but still full of vigour 
and vivacity, accompanied me. I saw several others, 
of different ages, who were walking there. But what 
surprised me was to see a great many of them amus- 
ing themselves by various agreeable and sportive 
games with young girls elegantly dressed, listening 
to their songs, and joining in their dances. The 
monk, who accompanied me, listened with great civil- 
ity and kindness to the questions I put to him 
concerning his order. The following is the sum of 
his answers to my numerous interrogations. The 
God Faraki, whom we worship, is so called from a 
word which signifies the fabricator. He made all 
that we behold — the earth, the stars, the sun, etc. 
He has endowed men with senses, which are so many 
sources of pleasure, and we think the only way of shew- 
ing our gratitude is to use them. This opinion will, 
doubtless, appear to you much more rational than that 
of the faquirs of India, who pass their lives in thwart- 
ing nature, and who inflict upon themselves the most 
melancholy privations and the most severe sufferings. 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR' 199 

As soon as the sun rises, we repair to the moun- 
tain you see before us, at the foot of which flows a 
stream of the most Hmpid water, which meanders in 
graceful windings through that meadow — enamelled 
with the loveliest flowers. We gather the most fra- 
grant of them, which we carry and lay upon the altar, 
together with various fruits, which we receive from 
the bounty of Faraki. We then sing his praises, and 
execute dances expressive of our thankfulness, and of 
all the enjoyments we owe to this beneficent deity. 
The highest of these is that which love produces, and 
we testify our ardent gratitude by the manner in 
which we avail ourselves of this inestimable gift 
of Faraki. Having left the temple, we go into sev- 
eral shady thickets, where we take a light repast ; after 
which, each of us employs himself in some unoppres- 
sive labour. Some embroider, others apply them- 
selves to painting, others cultivate flowers or fruits, 
others turn little implements for our use. Many of 
these little works are sold to the people, who pur- 
chase them with eagerness. The money arising from 
this sale forms a considerable part of our revenue. 
Our morning is thus devoted to the worship of God 
and to the exercise of the sense of Sight, which begins 
with the first rays of the sun. The sense of Taste is 
gratified by our dinner, and we add to it the pleasure 
of Smell. The most delicious viands are spread for 
us in apartments strewed with flowers. The table is 
adorned with them, and the most exquisite wines are 
handed to us in crystal goblets. When we have 
glorified God, by the agreeable use of the palate, and 
the olfactory nerve, we enjoy a delightful sleep of 
two hours, in bowers of orange trees, roses, and myr- 
tles. Having acquired a fresh store of strength and 
spirits, we return to our occupations, that we may 
thus mingle labour with pleasure, which would lose 



200 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

its zest by long continuance. After our work, we 
return to the temple, to thank God, and to offer him 
incense. From thence we go to the most delightful 
part of the garden, where we find three hundred 
young girls, some of whom form lively dances with 
the younger of our monks; the others execute serious 
dances, which require neither strength nor agility, and 
which only keep time to the sound of musical instru- 
ments. 

We talk and laugh with our companions, who are 
dressed in a light gauze, and whose tresses are 
adorned with flowers; we press them to partake of 
exquisite sherbets, differently prepared. The hour of 
supper being arrived, we repair to rooms illuminated 
with the lustre of a thousand tapers fragrant with 
amber. The supper-room is surrounded by three vast 
galleries, in which are placed musicians, whose vari- 
ous instruments fill the mind with the most pleasur- 
able and the softest emotions. The young girls are 
seated at table with us, and, towards the conclusion 
of the repast, they sing songs, which are hymns in 
honour of the God who has endowed us with senses 
which shed such a charm over existence, and which 
promise us new pleasure from every fresh exercise of 
them. After the repast is ended, we return to the 
dance, and, when the hour of repose arrives, we 
draw from a kind of lottery, in which every one is 
sure of a prize that is a sumptuously decorated sleep- 
ing room for the night. These rooms are allotted to 
each by chance to avoid jealousy, since some rooms are 
handsomer than others. Thus ends the day and gives 
place to a night of exquisite repose in which we enjoy 
well-earned sleep, that most divine of earthly gifts. 

We admire the wisdom and the goodness of Faraki, 
who has implanted an unconscious mutual attraction 
between the sexes that constantly draws them towards 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 201 

each other. It is this mutual love, these invisible 
ties, that make the world brighter, cheerier, happier. 
It has been truly said that those who selfishly cut 
themselves away from these ties, those that lead 
narrow, lonely, morbid lives, lose most of life's joys. 
What should we say to the favourite of a King 
from whom he had received a beautiful house, and 
fine estates, and who chose to spoil the house, to 
let it fall in ruins, to abandon the cultivation of the 
land, and let it become sterile, and covered with 
thorns ? Such is the conduct of the faquirs of India, 
who condemn themselves to the most melancholy 
privations, and to the most severe sufferings. Is not 
this insulting Faraki? Is it not saying to him, I 
despise your gifts? Is it not misrepresenting him 
and saying. You are malevolent and cruel, and I 
know that I can no otherwise please you than by 
offering you the spectacle of my miseries ? "I am 
told," added he, " that you have, in your country, 
faquirs not less insane, not less cruel to themselves.'' 
I thought, with some reason, that he meant the 
fathers of La Trappe. The recital of the matter 
afforded me much matter for reflection, and I admired 
how strange are the systems to which perverted rea- 
son gives birth. 

The Due de V was a nobleman of high rank 

and great wealth. He said to the King one evening 
at supper, " Your Majesty does me the favour to treat 
me with great kindness : I should be inconsolable if I 
had the misfortune to fall under your displeasure. 
If such a calamity were to befall me, I should en- 
deavour to divert my grief by improving some beauti- 
ful estates of mine in such and such a province;" and 
he thereupon gave a description of three or four fine 
seats. About a month after, talking of the disgrace 



202 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

of a Minister, he said, " I hope your Majesty will not 
withdraw your favour from me; but if I had the 
misfortune to lose it, I should be more to be pitied 
than anybody, for I have no asylum in which to hide 
my head." All those present, who had heard the 
description of the beautiful country houses, looked at 
each other and laughed. The King said to Madame 
de Pompadour, who sat next to him at table, " People 
are very right in saying that a liar ought to have a 
good memory f^ 

An event, which made me tremble, as well as 
Madame, procured me the familiarity of the King. 
In the middle of the night, Madame came into my 
chamber, en chemise, and in a state of distraction. 
** Here ! Here ! " said she, " the King is dying." My 
alarm may be easily imagined. I put on a petticoat, 
and found the King in her bed, panting. What was 
to be done? — it was an indigestion. We threw 
water upon him, and he came to himself. I made 
him swallow some Hoffman's drops, and he said to 
me, " Do not make any noise, but go to Quesnay; say 
that your mistress is ill; and tell the Doctor's serv- 
ants to say nothing about it." Quesnay, who lodged 
close by, came immediately, and was much astonished 
to see the King in that state. He felt his pulse, and 
said, *' The crisis is over; but, if the King were sixty 
years old, this might have been serious." He went 
to seek some drug, and, on his return, set about inun- 
dating the King with perfumed water. I forget the 
name of the medicine he made him take, but the 
effect was wonderful. I believe it was the drops of 
General Lamotte. I called up one of the girls of the 
wardrobe to make tea, as if for myself. The King 
took three cups, put on his robe de chamhre and his 
stockings, and went to his own room, leaning upon 
the Doctor. What a sight it was to see us all three 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 203 

half naked! Madame put on a robe as soon as 
possible, and I did the same, and the King changed 
his clothes behind the curtains, which were very 
decently closed. He afterwards spoke of this short 
attack, and expressed his sense of the attentions 
shown him. An hour after, I felt the greatest pos- 
sible terror in thinking that the King might have died 
in our hands. Happily, he quickly recovered himself, 
and none of the domestics perceived what had taken 
place. I merely told the girl of the wardrobe to put 
everything to rights, and she thought it was Madame 
who had been indisposed. The King, the next morn- 
ing, gave secretly to Quesnay a little note for 
Madame, in which he said. Ma chere amie must have 
had a great fright, hut let her reassure herself — I am 
now well, which the Doctor will certify to you. From 
that moment the King became accustomed to me, 
and, touched by the interest I had shown for him, he 
often gave me one of his peculiarly gracious glances, 
and made me little presents, and, on every New 
Year's Day, sent me porcelain to the amount of 
twenty louis d'or. He told Madame that he looked 
upon me in the apartment as a picture or statue, and 
never put any constraint upon himself on account of 
my presence. Doctor Quesnay received a pension of 
a thousand crowns for his attention and silence, and 
the promise of a place for his son. The King gave 
me an order upon the Treasury for four thousand 
francs, and Madame had presented to her a very hand- 
some chiming-clock and the King's portrait in a snuff- 
box. 

The King was habitually melancholy, and liked 
everything which recalled the idea of death, in spite 
of the strongest fears of it. Of this, the following is 
an instance : Madame de Pompadour was on her 
way to Crecy, when one of the King's grooms made 



204 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

a sign to her coachman to stop, and told him that 
the King's carriage had broken down, and that, 
knowing her to be at no great distance, His Majesty- 
had sent him forward to beg her to wait for him. 
He soon overtook us, and seated himself in Madame 
de Pompadour's carriage, in which were, I think, 
Madame de Chateau-Renaud, and Madame de Mire- 
poix. The lords in attendance placed themselves in 
some other carriages. I was behind, in a chaise, 
with Gourbillon, Madame de Pompadour's valet de 
chambre. We were surprised in a short time by the 
King stopping his carriage. Those which followed, 
of course stopped also. The King called a groom, 
and said to him, " You see that little eminence ; 
there are crosses; it must certainly be a burying- 
ground ; go and see whether there are any graves newly 
dug." The groom galloped up to it, returned, and 
said to the King, ** There are three quite freshly 
made." Madame de Pompadour, as she told me, 
turned away her head with horror; and the little 
Marechale gaily said, '^ This is indeed enough to make 
one's mouth water." Madame de Pompadour spoke 
of it when I was undressing her in the evening. 
" What a strange pleasure," said she, " to endeavour 
to fill one's mind with images which one ought to 
endeavour to banish, especially when one is sur- 
rounded by so many sources of happiness! But 
that is the King's way; he loves to talk about death. 
He said, some days ago, to M. de Fontanieu, who was 
seized with a bleeding at the nose, at the levee, 
* Take care of yourself; at your age it is a forerunner 
of apoplexy.' The poor man went home frightened, 
and absolutely ill." 

I never saw the King so agitated as during the 
illness of the Dauphin. The physicians came inces- 
santly to the apartments of Madame de Pompadour, 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 205 

where the King interrogated them. There was one 
from Paris, a very odd man, called Pousse, who 
once said to him, *' You are a good papa; I like you 
for that. But you know we are all your children, 
and share your distress. Take courage, however; 
your son will recover." Everybody's eyes were upon 
the Due d' Orleans, who knew not how to look. He 
would have become heir to the crown, the Queen 
being past the age to have children. Madame de 

said to me, one day, when I was expressing 

my surprise at the King's grief, " It would annoy 
him beyond measure to have a Prince of the blood 
heir apparent. He does not like them, and looks 
upon their relationship to him as so remote, that he 
would feel humiliated by it." And, in fact, when his 
son recovered, he said, " The King of Spain would 
have had a fine chance." It was thought that he 
was right in this, and that it would have been agree- 
able to justice; but that, if the Due d'Orleans had 
been supported by a party, he might have supported 
his pretensions to the crown. It was, doubtless, to 
remove this impression that he gave a magnificent 
fete at St. Cloud on the occasion of the Dauphin's 
recovery. Madame de Pompadour said to Madame 
de Brancas, speaking of this fete, " He wishes to 
make us forget the chateau en Espagne he has been 
dreaming of; in. Spain, however, they build them of 
solider materials." The people did not shew so 
much joy at the Dauphin's recovery. They looked 
upon him as a devotee, who did nothing but sing 
psalms. They loved the Due d'Orleans, who lived in 
the capital, and had acquired the name of the King 
of Paris. These sentiments were not just; the 
Dauphin only sang. psalms when imitating the tones 
of one of the choristers of the chapel. The people 
afterwards acknowledged their error, and did justice 



2o6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

to his virtues. The Due d'Orleans paid the most 
assiduous court to Madame de Pompadour: the 
Duchess, on the contrary, detested her. It is possible 
that words were put into the Duchess's mouth which 
she never uttered; but she, certainly, often said 
most cutting things. The King would have sent 
her into exile, had he listened only to his resent- 
ment; but he feared the eclat of such a proceeding, 
and he knew that she would only be the more 
malicious. The Due d'Orleans was, just then, ex- 
tremely jealous of the Comte de Melfort; and the 
Lieutenant of Police told the King he had strong 
reasons for believing that the Duke would stick at 
nothing to rid himself of this gallant, and that he 
thought it his duty to give the Count notice, that he 
ought to be upon his guard. The King said, " He 
would not dare to attempt any such violence as you 
seem to apprehend; but there is a better way: let him 
try to surprise them, and he will find me very well in- 
clined to have his cursed wife shut up; but if he got 
rid of this lover, she would have another to-morrow. 
Nay, she has others at this moment; for instance, the 
Chevalier de Colbert, and the Comte de I'Aigle." 
Madame de Pompadour, however, told me these two 
last affairs were not certain. 

An adventure happened about the same time, 
which the Lieutenant of Police reported to the King. 
The Duchesse d'Orleans had amused herself one 
evening, about eight o'clock, with ogling a handsome 
young Dutchman, whom she took a fancy to, from a 
window of the Palais Royal. The young man, taking 
her for a woman of the town, wanted to- make short 
work, at which she was very much shocked. She 
called a Swiss, and made herself known. The 
stranger was arrested; but he defended himself by 
affirming that she had talked very loosely to him. 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 207 

He was dismissed, and the Due d'Orleans gave his 
wife a severe reprimand. 

The King (who hated her so much that he spoke 
of her without the sHghtest restraint) one day said to 
Madame de Pompadour, in my presence, " Her 
mother knew what she was, for, before her marriage, 
she never suffered her to say more than yes and no. 
Do you know her joke on the nomination of Moras? 
She sent to congratulate him upon it: two minutes 
after, she called back the messenger she had sent, 
and said, before everybody present, ' Before you speak 
to him, ask the Swiss if he still has the place.' " 
Madame de Pompadour was not vindictive, and, in 
spite of the malicious speeches of the Duchesse 
d'Orleans, she tried to excuse her conduct. " Almost 
all women," she said, " have lovers ; she has not all 
that are imputed to her: but her free manners, and 
her conversation, which is beyond all bounds, have 
brought her into general disrepute." 

My companion came into my room the other day, 
quite delighted. She had been with M. de Chene- 
vieres, first Clerk in the War-office, and a constant 
correspondent of Voltaire, whom she looks upon as a 
god. She was, by the bye, put into a great rage one 
day, lately, by a print-seller in the street, who was 
crying, " Here is Voltaire, the famous Prussian ; here 
you see him, with a great bear-skin cap, to keep him 
from the cold! Here is the famous Prussian, for six 
sous ! " '' What a profanation ! " said she. To re- 
turn to my story: M. de Chenevieres had shewn her 
some letters from Voltaire, and M. Marmontel had 
read an Epistle to his Library. 

M. Quesnay came in for a moment; she told him 
all this: and, as he did not appear to take any great 
interest in it, she asked him if he did not admire 
great poets. " Oh, yes; just as I admire great bilbo- 



2o8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

quet players," said he, in that tone of his, which ren- 
dered ever5rthing he said diverting. " I have written 
some verses, however," said he, " and I will repeat 
them to you; they are upon a certain M. Rodot, an 
Intendant of the Marine, who was very fond of abus- 
ing medicine and medical men. I made these verses 
to revenge yEsculapius and Hippocrates. 

Antoine se mediclna 

En decriant la medicine, 
Et de ses propres mains mina 

Les fondemens de sa machine: 
Tres rarement il opina 

Sans humeur bizarre ou chagrine, 
Et, I'esprit qui le domina 

Etait affiche sur sa mine. 

" What do you say to them? " said the Doctor. My 
companion thought them very pretty, and the Doctor 
gave me them in his handwriting, begging me, at the 
same time, not to give any copies. 

Madame de Pompadour joked my companion about 
her hel-esprit, but sometimes she reposed confidence in 
her. Knowing that she was often writing, she said 
to her, " You are writing a novel, which will appear 
some day or other; or, perhaps, the age of Louis 
XV. : I beg you to treat me well." I have no reason 
to complain of her. It signifies very little to me that 
she can talk more learnedly than I can about prose 
and verse. 

She never told me her real name; but one day I 
was malicious enough to say to her, " Some one was 
maintaining, yesterday, that the family of Madame de 

Mar was of more importance than many of good 

extraction. They say it is the first in Cadiz. She 
had very honourable alliances, and yet she has thought 
it no degradation to be governess to Madame de Pom- 
padour's daughter. One day you will see her sons or 
her nephews Farmers General, and her granddaughters 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 209 

married to Dukes." I had remarked that Madame de 
Pompadour for some days had taken chocolate, d 
triple vanille et amhre, at her breakfast; and that she 
ate truffles and celery soup: finding her in a very 
heated state, I one day remonstrated with her about 
her diet, to which she paid no attention. I then 
thought it right to speak to her friend, the Duchesse 
de Brancas. " I had remarked the same thing," said 
she, " and I will speak to her about it before you." 
After she was dressed, Madame de Brancas, accord- 
ingly, told her she was uneasy about her health. " I 
have just been talking to her about it," said the 
Duchess, pointing to me, *' and she is of my opinion." 
Madame de Pompadour seemed a little displeased; at 
last, she burst into tears. I immediately went out, 
shut the door, and returned to my place to listen. 
" My dear friend," she said to Madame de Brancas, 
" I am agitated by the fear of losing the King's heart 
by ceasing to be attractive to him. Men, you know, 
set great value on certain things, and I have the mis- 
fortune to be of a very cold temperament. I, there- 
fore, determined to adopt a heating diet, in order to 
remedy this defect, and for two days this elixir has 
been of great service to me, or, at least, I have 
thought I felt its good effects." The Duchesse de 
Brancas took the phial which was upon the toilet, 
and after having smelt at it, '' Fie ! " said she, and 
threw it into the fire. Madame de Pompadour scolded 
her, and said, " I don't like to be treated Hke a child." 
She wept again, and said, " You don't know what 
happened to me a week ago. The King, under pre- 
text of the heat of the weather, lay down upon my 
sofa, and passed half the night there. He will take 
a disgust to me and have another mistress." '' You 
will not avoid that," replied the Duchess, '' by follow- 
ing your new diet, and that diet will kill you; render 



2IO MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

your company more and more precious to the King 
by your gentleness : do not repulse him in his fond mo- 
ments, and let time do the rest; the chains of habit 
will bind him to you for ever." They then embraced; 
Madame de Pompadour recommended secrecy to 
Madame de Brancas, and the diet was abandoned. 

A little while after, she said to me, " Our master is 
better pleased with me. This is since I spoke to 
Quesnay, without, however, telling him all. He told 
me, that to accomplish my end, I must try to be in 
good health, to digest well, and, for that purpose, take 
exercise. I think the Doctor is right. I feel quite 
a different creature. I adore that man (the King), 
I wish so earnestly to be agreeable to him ! But, alas ! 
sometimes he says I am a macreuse (a cold-blooded 
aquatic bird). I would give my life to please him." 

One day, the King came in very much heated. I 
withdrew to my post, where I listened. " What is 
the matter?" said Madame de Pompadour. "The 
long robes and the clergy," replied he, " are always 
at drawn daggers, they distract me by their quar- 
rels. But I detest the long robes the most. My 
clergy, on the whole, is attached and faithful to 
me; the others want to keep me in a state of 
tutelage." " Firmness," said Madame de Pompa- 
dour, " is the only thing that can subdue them." 
" Robert Saint Vincent is an incendiary, whom I 
wish I could banish, but that would make a terrible 
tumult. On the other hand, the Archbishop is an 
iron-hearted fellow, who tries to pick quarrels. Hap- 
pily, there are some in the Parliament upon whom I 
can rely, and who affect to be very violent, but can be 
softened upon occasion. It costs me a few abbeys, 
and a few secret pensions, to accomplish this. There 

is a certain V who serves me very well, while 

he appears to be furious on the other side." " I can 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 211 

tell you some news of him, Sire/' said Madame de 
Pompadour. " He wrote to me yesterday, pretending 
that he is related to me, and begging for an inter- 
view." " Well," said the King, " let him come. See 
him; and if he behaves well, we shall have a pretext 
for giving him something." M. de Gontaut came in, 
and seeing that they were talking seriously, said 
nothing. The King walked about in an agitated 
manner, and suddenly exclaimed, " The Regent was 
very wrong in restoring to them the right of remon- 
strating; they will end in ruining the State." ''Ah, 
Sire," said M. de Gontaut, '' it is too strong to be 
shaken by a set of petty justices." '' You don't know 
what they do, nor what they think. They are an as- 
sembly of republicans; however, here is enough of 
the subject. Things will last as they are as long as I 
shall. Talk about this on Sunday, Madame, with 
M. Berrier." Madame d'Amblimont and Madame 
d'Esparbes came in. '' Ah ! here come my kittens," 
said Madame de Pompadour ; " all that we are about 
is Greek to them; but their gaiety restores my tran- 
quillity, and enables me to attend again to serious 
affairs. You, Sire, have the chase to divert you — 
they answer the same purpose to me." The King 
then began to talk about his morning's sport, and 
Lansmatte. It was necessary to let the King go on 
upon these subjects, and even, sometimes, to hear the 
same story three or four times over, if new persons 
came into the room. Madame de Pompadour never 
betrayed the least ennui. She even sometimes per- 
suaded him to begin his story anew. ♦ 
I one day said to her, " It appears to me, Madame, 
that you are fonder than ever of the Comtesse d'Am- 
blimont." " I have reason to be so," said she. " She 
is unique, I think, for her fidelity to her friends, and 
for her honour. Listen, but tell nobody — four days 



212 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

ago, the King, passing her to go to supper, approached 
her, under the pretence of tickling her, and tried to 
slip a note into her hand. D'Amblimont, in her mad- 
cap way, put her hands behind her back, and the King 
was obliged to pick up the note, which had fallen on 
the ground. Gontaut was the only person who saw 
all this, and after supper, he went up to the little 
lady, and said, ' You are an excellent friend.' * I 
did my duty,' said she, and immediately put her 
finger on her lips to enjoin him to be silent. He, 
however, informed me of this act of friendship of the 
little heroine, who had not told me of it herself." I 
admired the Countess's virtue, and Madame de Pom- 
padour said, '* She is giddy and headlong; but she has 
more sense and more feeling than a thousand prudes 
and devotees. D'Esparbes would not do as much — 
most likely she would meet him more than half-way. 
The King appeared disconcerted, but he still pays her 
great attentions." " You will, doubtless, Madame," 
said I, " show your sense of such admirable conduct." 
" You need not doubt it," said she, " but I don't 
wish her to think that I am informed of it." The 
King, prompted either by the remains of his liking, 
or from the suggestions of Madame de Pompadour, 
one morning went to call on Madame d'Amblimont, 
at Choisy, and threw round her neck a collar of dia- 
monds and emeralds, worth between fifty thousand 
and seventy-five thousand francs. This happened a 
long time after the circumstance I have just related. 

There was a large sofa in a little room adjoining 
Madame de Pompadour's, upon which I often reposed. 

One evening, towards midnight, a bat flew into the 
apartment where the Court was; the King immedi- 
ately cried out, ''Where is General Crillon?" (He 
had just left the room.) '' He is the General to com- 
mand against the bats." This set everybody calling 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 213 

out, '' Ou etais-tu, Crillonf " M. de Crillon soon after 
came in, and was told where the enemy was. He 
immediately threw off his coat, drew his sword, and 
commenced an attack upon the bat, which flew into 
the closet where I was fast asleep. I started out of 
sleep at the noise, and saw the King and all the com- 
pany around me. This furnished amusement for the 
rest of the evening. M. de Crillon was a very excel- 
lent and agreeable man, but he had the fault of 
indulging in buffooneries of this kind, which, how- 
ever, were the result of his natural gaiety, and not of 
any subserviency of character. Such, however, was 
not the case with another exalted nobleman, a Knight 
of the Golden Fleece, whom Madame saw one day 
shaking hands with her valet de chambre. As he 
was one of the vainest men at Court, Madame could 
not refrain from telling the circumstance to the King; 
and, as he had no employment at Court, the King 
scarcely ever after named him on the Supper List. 

I had a cousin at Saint Cyr, who was married. 
She was greatly distressed at having a relation wait- 
ing woman to Madame de Pompadour, and often 
treated me in the most mortifying manner. Madame 
knew this from Colin, her steward, and spoke of it 
to the King. " I am not surprised at it," said he; 
" this is a specimen of the silly women of Saint Cyr. 
Madame de Maintenon had excellent intentions, but 
she made a great mistake. These girls are brought 
up in such a manner, that, unless they are all made 
ladies of the palace, they are unhappy and imper- 
tinent." 

Some time after, this relation of mine was at my 
house. Colin, who knew her, though she did not 
know him, came in. He said to me, " Do you know 
that the Prince de Chimay has made a violent 
attack upon the Chevalier d'Henin for being equerry 



214 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

to the Marquise." At these words, my cousin looked 
very much astonished, and said, " Was he not 
right ? " "I don't mean to enter into that question," 
said CoHn — '' but only to repeat his words, which 
were these : ' If you were only a man of moderately 
good family and poor, I should not blame you, know- 
ing, as I do, that there are hundreds such, who 
would quarrel for your place, as young ladies of 
family would, to be about your mistress. But, 
recollect, that your relations are princes of the 
Empire, and that you bear their name.' " " What, 
sir," said my relation, " the Marquise's equerry of 
a princely house?" *' Of the house of Chimay," 
said he; "they take the name of Alsace" — witness 
the Cardinal of that name. Colin went out delighted 
at what he had said. 

" I cannot get over my surprise at what I have 
heard," said my relation. " It is, nevertheless, very 
true," replied I ; " you may see the Chevalier d'Henin 
(that is the family name of the Princes de Chimay), 
with the cloak of Madame upon his arm, and walking 
alongside her sedan-chair, in order that he may be 
ready, on her getting in, to cover her shoulders with 
her cloak, and then remain in the antechamber, if 
there is no other room, till her return." 

From that time, my cousin let me alone; nay, she 
even applied to me to get a company of horse for her 
husband, who was very loath to come and thank me. 
His wife wished him to thank Madame de Pompa- 
dour; but the fear he had lest she should tell him, 
that it was in consideration of his relationship to her 
waiting-woman that he commanded fifty horse, pre- 
vented him. It was, however, a most surprising 
thing that a man belonging to the house of Chimay 
should be in the service of any lady whatever; and 
the commander of Alsace returned from Malta on 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 215 

purpose to get him out of Madame de Pompadour's 
household. He got him a pension of a hundred 
louis from his family, and the Marquise gave him 
a company of horse. The Chevalier d'Henin had 
been page to the Marechal de Luxembourg, and one 
can hardly imagine how he could have put his rela- 
tion in such a situation; for, generally speaking, all 
great houses keep up the consequence of their mem- 
bers. M. de Machault, the Keeper of the Seals, had, 
at the same time, as equerry, a Knight of St. Louis, 
and a man of family — the Chevalier de Peribuse — 
who carried his portfolio, and walked by the side of 
the chair. 

Whether it was from ambition, or from tender- 
ness, Madame de Pompadour had a regard for her 
daughter, which seemed to proceed from the bottom 
of her heart. She was brought up like a Princess, 
and, like persons of that rank, was called by her 
Christian name alone. The first persons at Court 
had an eye to this alliance, but her mother had, 
perhaps, a better project. The King had a son by 
Madame de Vintimille, who resembled him in face, 
gesture, and manners. He was called the Comte du 

• . Madame de Pompadour had him brought 

to Bellevue. Colin, her steward, was employed to 
find means to persuade his tutor to bring him thither. 
They took some refreshment at the house of the 
Swiss, and the Marquise, in the course of her 
walk, appeared to meet them by accident. She 
asked the name of the child, and admired his beauty. 
Her daughter came up at the same moment, and 
Madame de Pompadour led them into a part of the 
garden where she knew the King would come. He 
did come, and asked the child's name. He was told, 
and looked embarrassed when Madame, pointing to 
them, said they would be a beautiful couple. The 



2i6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

King played with the girl, without appearing to take 
any notice of the boy, who, while he was eating some 
figs and cakes which were brought, his attitudes and 
gestures were so like those of the King, that Madame 
de Pompadour was in the utmost astonishment. 

'^Ah!" said she, "Sire, look at ." "At 

what ? " said he. " Nothing," replied Madame, " ex- 
cept that one would think one saw his father." 

" I did not know," said the King, smiling, " that 
you were so intimately acquainted with the Comte du 

L ." " You ought to embrace him," said she, 

" he is very handsome." " I will begin, then, with 
the young lady," said the King, and embraced them 
in a cold, constrained manner. I was present, hav- 
ing joined Mademoiselle's governess. I remarked to 
Madame, in the evening, that the King had not 
appeared very cordial in his caresses. " That is his 
way," said she; "but do not those children appear 
made for each other? If it was Louis XIV., he 
would make a Due du Maine of the little boy; I do 
not ask so much; but a place and a dukedom for his 
son is very little; and it is because he is his son that 
I prefer him to all the little Dukes of the Court. My 
grandchildren would blend the resemblance of their 
grandfather and grandmother; and this combination, 
which' I hope to live to see, would, one day, be my 
greatest delight." The tears came into her eyes as 
she spoke. Alas! alas! only six months elapsed, 
when her darling daughter, the hope of her advanced 
years, the object of her fondest wishes, died suddenly, 
Madame de Pompadour was inconsolable, and I must 
do M. de Marigny the justice to say that he was 
deeply afflicted. His niece was beautiful as an angel, 
and destined to the highest fortunes, and I always 
thought that he had formed the design of marrying 
her. A dukedom would have given him rank; and 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 217 

that, joined to his place, and to the wealth which she 
would have had from her mother, would have made 
him a man of great importance. The difference of 
age was not sufficient to be a great obstacle. People, 
as usual, said the young lady was poisoned; for the 
unexpected death of persons who command a large 
portion of public attention always gives birth to these 
rumours. The King shewed great regret, but more 
for the grief of Madame than on account of the loss 
itself, though he had often caressed the child, and 
loaded her with presents. I owe it, also, to justice, 
to say that M. de Marigny, the heir of all Madame de 
Pompadour's fortune, after the death of her daughter, 
evinced the sincerest and deepest regret every time 
she was seriously ill. She, soon after, began to lay 
plans for his establishment. Several young ladies of 
the highest birth were thought of; and, perhaps, he 
would have been made a Duke, but his turn of mind 
indisposed him for schemes either of marriage or 
ambition. Ten times he might have been made 
Prime Minister, yet he never aspired to it. *' That 
is a man,'' said Quesnay to me, one day, '' who is very 
little known; nobody talks of his talents or acquire- 
ments, nor of his zealous and efficient patronage of 
the arts: no man, since Colbert, has done so much in 
his situation: he is, moreover, an extremely honour- 
able man, but people will not see in him anything but 
the brother of the favourite; and, because he is fat, 
he is thought dull and heavy." This was all per- 
fectly true. M. de Marigny had travelled in Italy 
with very able artists, and had acquired taste, and 
much more information than any of his predecessors 
had possessed. As for the heaviness of his air, it 
only came upon him when he grew fat; before that, 
he had a delightful face. He was then as handsome 
as his sister. He paid court to nobody, had no 



2i8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

vanity, and confined himself to the society of persons 
with whom he was at his ease. He went rather more 
into company at Court after the King had taken him 
to ride with him in his carriage, thinking it then his 
duty to shew himself among the courtiers. 

Madame called me, one day, into her closet, where 
the King was walking up and down in a very serious 
mood. '' You must," said she, '' pass some days in a 
house in the Avenue de St. Cloud, whither I shall 
send you. You will there find a young lady about to 
lie in." The King said nothing, and I was mute 
from astonishment. " You will be mistress of the 
house, and preside, like one of the fabulous goddesses, 
at the accouchement. Your presence is necessary, in 
order that everything may pass secretly, and accord- 
ing to the King's wish. You will be present at the 
baptism, and name the father and mother." The 
King began to laugh, and said, " The father is a very 
honest man;" Madame added, "beloved by every 
one, and adored by those who know him." Madame 
then took from a little cupboard a small box, and 
drew from it an aigrette of diamonds, at the same 
time saying to the King, " I have my reasons for it 
not being handsomer." " It is but too much so," said 
the King; ''how kind you are;" and he then em- 
braced Madame, who wept with emotion, and, putting 
her hand upon the King's heart, said, " This is what 
I wish to secure." The King's eyes then filled with 
tears, and I also began weeping, without knowing 
why. Afterwards, the King said, "' Guimard will call 
upon you every day, to assist you with his advice, 
and at the critical moment you will send for him. 
You will say that you expect the sponsors, and a 
moment after you will pretend to have received a 
letter, stating that they cannot come. You will, of 
course, affect to be very much embarrassed; and 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 219 

Guimard will then say that there is nothing for it 
but to take the first comers. You will then appoint 
as godfather and godmother some beggar, or chair- 
man, and the servant girl of the house, and to whom 
you will give but twelve francs, in order not to 
attract attention." " A louis," added Madame, " to 
obviate anything singular, on the other hand." " It is 
you who make me economical, under certain circum- 
stances," said the King. " Do you remember the 
driver of the Hacref I wanted to give him a louis, 
and Due d' Ayen said, * You will be known ; ' so that I 
gave him a crown." He was going to tell the whole 
story. Madame made a sign to him to be silent, 
which he obeyed, not without considerable reluctance. 
She afterwards told me that at the time of the fetes 
given on occasion of the Dauphin's marriage, the 
King came to see her at her mother's house in a 
hackney-coach. The coachman would not go on, and 
the King would have given him a louis. " The police 
will hear of it, if you do," said the Due d'Ayen, " and 
its spies will make inquiries, which will, perhaps, lead 
to a discovery." 

" Guimard," continued the King, " will tell you the 
names of the father and mother; he will be present 
at the ceremony, and make the usual presents. It is 
but fair that you also should receive yours ; " and, as 
he said this, he gave me fifty louis, with that gracious 
air that he could so well assume upon certain occa- 
sions, and which no person in the kingdom had but 
himself. I kissed his hand and wept. " You will 
take care of the accouchee^ will you not? She is a 
good creature, who has not invented gunpowder, and 
I confide her entirely to your direction; my chan- 
cellor will tell you, the rest," he said, turning to 
Madame, and then quitted the room. '' Well, what 
think you of the part I am playing? " asked Madame. 



220 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

" It is that of a superior woman, and an excellent 
friend," I replied. " It is his heart I wish to secure," 
said she ; " and all those young girls who have no 
education will not run away with it from me. I 
should not be equally confident were I to see some 
fine woman belonging to the Court, or the city, at- 
tempt his conquest." 

I asked Madame, if the young lady knew that the 
King was the father of her child? '' I do not think 
she does," replied she; "but, as he appeared fond of 
her, there is some reason to fear that those about her 
might be too ready to tell her; otherwise," said she, 
shrugging her shoulders, " she, and all the others, are 
told that he is a Polish nobleman, a relation of the 
Queen, who has apartments in the castle." This 
story was contrived on account of the cordon bleu, 
w'hich the King has not always time to lay aside, 
because, to do that, he must change his coat, and in 
order to account for his having a lodging in the castle 
so near the King. There were two little rooms by 
the side of the chapel, whither the King retired from 
his apartment, without being seen by anybody but a 
sentinel, who had his orders, and who did not knchv 
who passed through those rooms. The King some- 
times went to the Parc-aux-cerfs, or received those 
young ladies in the apartments I have mentioned. 

I must here interrupt my narrative, to relate a 
singular adventure, which is only known to six or 
seven persons, masters or valets. At the time of the 
attempt to assassinate the King, a young girl, whom 
he had seen several times, and for whom he had 
manifested more tenderness than for most, was dis- 
tracted at this horrible event. The Mother- Abbess of 
the Parc-aux-cerfs perceived her extraordinary grief, 
and managed so as to make her confess that she knew 
the Polish Count was the King of France. She con- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 221 

fessed that she had taken from his pocket two letters, 
one of which was from the King of Spain, the other 
from the Abbe de BrogHe. This was discovered 
afterwards, for neither she nor the Mother-Abbess 
knew the names of the writers. The girl was scolded, 
and M. Lebel, first valet de chambre, who had the 
management of all these affairs, was called; he took 
the letters, and carried them to the King, who was 
very much embarrassed in what manner to meet a 
person so well informed of his condition. The girl 
in question, having perceived that the King came 
secretly to see her companion, while she was neglected, 
watched his arrival, and, at the moment he entered 
with the Abbess, who was about to withdraw, she 
rushed distractedly into the room where her rival was. 
She immediately threw herself at the King's feet. 
"Yes," said she, "you are King of all France; but 
that would be nothing to me if you were not also 
monarch of my heart : do not forsake me, my beloved 
sovereign; I was nearly mad when your life was 
attempted ! " The Mother- Abbess cried out, " You are 
mad now." The King embraced her, which appeared 
to restore her to tranquillity. They succeeded in 
getting her out of the room, and a few days after- 
wards the unhappy girl was taken to a madhouse, 
where she was treated as if she had been insane, for 
some days. But she knew well enough that she was 
not so, and that the King had really been her lover. 
This lamentable affair was related to me by the 
Mother-Abbess, when I had some acquaintance with 
her at the time of the accouchement I have spoken of, 
which I never had before, nor since. 

To return to my history: Madame de Pompadour 
said to me, " Be constantly with the accouchee, to 
prevent any stranger, or even the people of the house, 
from speaking to her. You will always say that he 



222 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

is a very rich Polish nobleman, who is obliged to 
conceal himself on account of his relationship to the 
Queen, who is very devout. You will find a wet- 
nurse in the house, to whom you will deliver the 
child. Guimard will manage all the rest. You 
will go to church as a witness; everything must be 
conducted as if for a substantial citizen. The young 
lady expects to lie in in five or six days; you will 
dine with her, and will not leave her till she is in a 
state of health to return to the Parc-aux-cerfs, which 
she may do in a fortnight, as I imagine, without 
running any risk." I went, that same evening, to 
the Avenue de Saint Cloud, where I found the 
Abbess and Guimard, an attendant belonging to the 
castle, but without his blue coat. There were, 
besides, a nurse, a wet-nurse, two old men-servants, 
and a girl, who was something between a servant 
and a waiting-woman. The young lady was ex- 
tremely pretty, and dressed very elegantly, though 
not too remarkably. I supped with her and the 
Mother-Abbess, who was called Madame Bertrand. 
I had presented the aigrette Madame de Pompadour 
gave me before supper, which had greatly delighted 
the young lady, and she was in high spirits. 
Madame Bertrand had been housekeeper to M. Lebel, 
first valet de chambre to the King. He called her 
Dominique, and she was entirely in his confidence. 
The young lady chatted with us after supper; she 
appeared to be very naive. The next day, I talked 
to her in private. She said to me, '' How is the 
Count?" (It was the King whom she called by this 
title. ) " He will be very sorry not to be with me 
now; but he was obliged to set off on a long 
journey." I assented to what she said. " He is very 
handsome," said she, " and loves me with all his 
heart. He promised me an allowance; but I love 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 223 

him disinterestedly; and, if he would let me, I would 
follow him to Poland." She afterwards talked to 
me about her parents, and about M. Lebel, whom she 
knew by the name of Durand. " My mother," said 
she, " kept a large grocer's shop, and my father was 
a man of some consequence; he belonged to the Six 
Corps, and that, as everybody knows, is an excellent 
thing. He was twice very near being head-bailiff." 
Her mother had become bankrupt at her father's 
death, but the Count had come to her assistance, and 
settled upon her fifteen hundred francs a year, 
besides giving her six thousand francs down. On 
the sixth day, she was brought to bed, and, according 
to my instructions, she was told the child was a girl, 
though it reality it was a boy; she was soon to be 
told that it was dead, in order that no trace of its 
existence might remain for a certain time. It was 
eventually to be restored to its mother. The King 
gave each of his children about ten thousand francs 
a year. They inherited after each other as they 
died off, and seven or eight were already dead. I 
returned to Madame de Pompadour, to whom I had 
written every day by Guimard. The next day, the 
King sent for me into the room; he did not say 
a word as to the business I had been employed upon; 
but he gave me a large gold snuff-box, containing 
two rouleaux of twenty-five louis each. I curtsied to 
him, and retired. Madame asked me a great many 
questions of the young lady, and laughed heartily at 
her simplicity, and at all she had said about the 
Polish nobleman. ** He is disgusted with the 
Princess, and, I think, will return to Poland for ever, 
in two months." " And the young lady ? " said I. 
" She will be married in the country," said she, " with 
a portion of forty thousand crowns "at the most and a 
few diamonds." This little adventure, which initiated 



224 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

me into the King's secrets, far from procuring for 
me increased marks of kindness from him, seemed 
to produce a coldness towards me; probably be- 
cause he was ashamed of my knowing his obscure 
amours. He was also embarrassed by the services 
Madame de Pompadour had rendered him on this oc- 
casion. 

Besides the little mistresses of the Parc-aux-cerfs, 
the King had sometimes intrigues with ladies of the 
Court, or from Paris, who wrote to him. There was 

a Madame de L , who, though married to a young 

and amiable man, with two hundred thousand francs 
a year, wished absolutely to become his mistress. 
She contrived to have a meeting with him: and the 
King, who knew who she was, was persuaded that she 
was really madly in love with him. There is no 
knowing what might have happened, had she not 
died. Madame was very much alarmed, and was 
only relieved by her death from inquietude. A cir- 
cumstance took place at this time which doubled 
Madame's friendship for me. A rich man, who had 
a situation in the Revenue Department, called on me 
one day very secretly, and told me that he had some- 
thing of importance to communicate to Madame la 
Marquise, but that he should find himself very much 
embarrassed in communicating it to her personally, 
and that he should prefer acquainting me with it. 
He then told me, what I already knew, that he had a 
very beautiful wife, of whom he was passionately 
fond; that having on one occasion perceived her 
kissing a little porte-feuille, he endeavoured to get 
possession of it, supposing there was some mystery 
attached to it. One day that she suddenly left the 
room to go upstairs to see her sister, who had been 
brought to bed, he took the opportunity of opening 
the porte-feuille, and was very much surprised to find 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 225 

in it a portrait of the King, and a very tender letter 
written by His Majesty. Of the latter he took a 
copy, as also of an unfinished letter of his wife, in 
which she vehemently entreated the King to allow 
her to have the pleasure of an interview — the means 
she pointed out. She was to go masked to the public 
ball at Versailles, where His Majesty could meet her 

under favour of a mask. I assured M. de that 

I should acquaint Madame with the affair, who would, 
no doubt, feel very grateful for the communication. 
He then added, " Tell Madame la Marquise that my 
wife is very clever and very intriguing. I adore her, 
and should run distracted were she to be taken from 
me." I lost not a moment in acquainting Madame 
with the affair and gave her the letter. She became 
serious and pensive, and I since learned that she con- 
sulted M. Berrier, Lieutenant of Police, who, by a 
very simple but ingeniously conceived plan, put an 
end to the designs of this lady. He demanded an 
audience of the King, and told him that there was a 
lady in Paris who was making free with His Majesty's 
name; that he had been given the copy of a letter, 
supposed to have been written by His Majesty to the 
lady in question. The copy he put into the King's 
hands, who read it in great confusion, and then tore 
it furiously to pieces. M. Berrier added, that it was 
rumoured that this lady was to meet His Majesty at 
the public ball, and, at this very moment, it so hap- 
pened that a letter was put into the King's hand, 
which proved to be from the lady, appointing the 
meeting; at least, M. Berrier judged so, as the King 
appeared very much surprised on reading it, and said, 
" It must be allowed, M. le Lieutenant of Police, that 
you are well informed." M. Berrier added, " I think 
it my duty to tell Your Majesty that this lady passes 
for a very intriguing person." " I believe," replied 



226 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

the King, " that it is not without deserving it that 
she has got that character." 

Madame de Pompadour had many vexations in the 
midst of all her grandeur. She often received anony- 
mous letters, threatening her with poison or assassi- 
nation: her greatest fear, however, was that of being 
supplanted by a rival. I never saw her in a greater 
agitation than, one evening, on her return from the 
drawing-room at Marly. She threw down her cloak 
and muff, the instant she came in, with an air of ill- 
humour, and undressed herself in a hurried manner. 
Having dismissed her other women, she said to me, 
*' I think I never saw anybody so insolent as Madame 
de Coaslin. I was seated at the same table with her 
this evening, at a game of hrelan, and you cannot 
imagine what I suffered. The men and women 
seemed to come in relays to watch us. Madame de 
Coaslin said two or three times, looking at me, Va 
tout, in the most insulting manner. I thought I 
should have fainted, when she said, in a triumphant 
tone, I have the hrelan of kings. Iwish you had 
seen her courtesy to me on parting." " Did the 
King," said I, ''show her particular attention?" 
" You don't know him," said she; '' if he were going 
to lodge her this very night in my apartment, he 
would behave coldly to her before people, and would 
treat me with the utmost kindness. This is the effect 
of his education, for he is, by nature, kind-hearted 
and frank." Madame de Pompadour's alarms lasted 
for some months, when she, one day, said to me, 
" That haughty Marquise has missed her aim; she 
frightened the King by her grand airs, and was in- 
cessantly teasing him for money. Now you, perhaps, 
may not know that the King would sign an order for 
forty thousand louis without a thought, and would 
give a hundred out of his little private treasury with 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 227 

the greatest reluctance. Lebel, who likes me better 
than he would a new mistress in my place, either by 
chance or design had brought a charming little sul- 
tana to the Parc-aux-cerfs, who has cooled the King 
a little towards the haughty Vashti, by giving him 

occupation, has received a hundred thousand 

francs, some jewels, and an estate. Jannette has 
rendered me great service, by showing the King ex- 
tracts from the letters broken open at the post-office, 
concerning the report that Madame de Coaslin was 
coming into favour. The King was much impressed 
by a letter from an old counsellor of the Parliament, 
who wrote to one of his friends as follows : " It is 
quite as reasonable that the King should have a 
female friend and confidante^ — as that we, in our 
several degrees, should so indulge ourselves; but it 
is desirable that he should keep the one he has; she 
is gentle, injures nobody, and her fortune is made. 
The one who is now talked of will be as haughty as 
high birth can make her. She must have an allow- 
ance of a million francs a year, since she is said to be 
excessively extravagant; her relations must be made 
Dukes, Governors of provinces, and Marshals, and, in 
the end, will surround the King, and overawe the 
Ministers." 

Madame de Pompadour had this passage, which 
had been sent to her by M. Jannette, the Intendant of 
the Police, who enjoyed the King's entire confidence. 
He had carefully watched the King's look, while he 
read the letter, and he saw that the arguments of 
this counsellor, who was not a disaffected person, 
made a great impression upon him. Some time 
afterwards, Madame de Pompadour said to me, 
" The haughty Marquise behaved like Mademoiselle 
Deschamps, and she is turned offf This was not 
Madame's only subject of alarm. A relation of 

Memoirs — 8 Vol. 1 



228 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

Madame d'Estrades, wife to the Marquis de C , 

had made the most pointed advances to the King, 
much more than were necessary for a man who 
justly thought himself the handsomest man in 
France, and who was, moreover, a King. He was 
perfectly persuaded that every woman would yield to 
the slightest desire he might deign to manifest. He, 
therefore, thought it a mere matter of course that 
women fell in love with him. M. de Stainville had 
a hand in marring the success of that intrigue; and, 

soon afterwards, the Marquise de C , who was 

confined to her apartments at Marly, by her rela- 
tions, escaped through a closet to a rendezvous, and 
was caught with a young man in a corridor. The 
Spanish Ambassador, coming out of his apartments 
with flambeaux, was the person who witnessed this 
scene. Madame d'Estrades affected to know nothing 
of her cousin's intrigues, and kept up an appearance 
of the tenderest attachment to Madame de Pompa- 
dour, whom she was habitually betraying. She 
acted as spy for M. d'Argenson, in the cabinets, and 
in Madame de Pompadour's apartments; and, when 
she could discover nothing, she had recourse to her 
invention, in order that she might not lose her 
importance with her lover. This Madame d'Estrades 
owed her whole existence to the bounties of Madame, 
and yet, ugly as she was, she had tried to get the 
King away from her. One day, when he had got 
rather drunk at Choisy (I think, the only time that 
ever happened to him), he went on board a beautiful 
barge, whither Madame, being ill of an indigestion, 
could not accompany him. Madame d'Estrades 
seized this opportunity. She got into the barge, and, 
on their return, as it was dark, she followed the 
King into a private closet, where he was believed to 
be sleeping on a couch, and there went somewhat 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 229 

beyond any ordinary advances to him. Her account 
of the matter to Madame was, that she had gone into 
the closet upon her own affairs, and that the King" 
had followed her, and had tried to ravish her. She 
was at full liberty to make what story she pleased, 
for the King knew neither what he had said, nor 
what he had done. I shall finish this subject by a 
short history concerning a young lady. I had been, 
one day, to the theatre at Compiegne. When I 
returned, Madame asked me several questions about 
the play; whether there was much company, and 
whether I did not see a very beautiful girl. I 
replied, *' That there was, indeed, a girl in a box near 
mine, who was surrounded by all the young men 
about the Court." She smiled, and said, " That is 
Mademoiselle Dorothee; she went, this evening, to 
see the King sup in public, and to-morrow she is to 
be taken to the hunt. You are surprised to find me 
so well informed, but I know a great deal more about 
her. She was brought here by a Gascon, named 
Dubarre or Dubarri, who is the greatest scoundrel in 
France. He founds all his hopes of advancement on 
Mademoiselle Dorothee's charms, which he thinks the 
King cannot resist. She is, really, very beautiful. 
She was pointed out to me in my little garden, 
whither she was taken to walk on purpose. She is 
the daughter of a water-carrier, at Strasbourg, and 
her charming lover demands to be sent Minister to 
Cologne, as a beginning." " Is it possible, Madame, 
that you can have been rendered uneasy by such a 
creature as that ? " " Nothing is impossible," replied^ 
she ; " though I think the King would scarcely dare 
to give such a scandal. Besides, happily, Lebel, to 
quiet his conscience, told the King that the beautiful 
Dorothee's lover is infected with a horrid disease;" 
and, added he, " Your Majesty would not get rid of 



230 MEMOIRS OF. LOUIS XV. 

that as you have done of the scrofula." This 
was quite enough to keep the young lady at a dis- 
tance. 

** I pity you sincerely, Madame," said I, " while 
everybody else envies you." " Ah ! " replied she, 
*' my life is that of the Christian, a perpetual war- 
fare. This was not the case with the woman who 
enjoyed the favour of Louis XIV. Madame de La 
Valliere suffered herself to be deceived by Madame 
de Montespan, but it was her own fault, or, rather, 
the effect of her extreme good nature. She was 
entirely devoid of suspicion at first, because she 
could not believe her friend perfidious. Madame 
de Montespan's empire was shaken by Madame de 
Fontanges, and overthrown by Madame de Main- 
tenon; but her haughtiness, her caprices, had already 
alienated the King. He had not, however, such 
rivals as mine; it is true, their baseness is my 
security. I have, in general, little to fear but casual 
infidelities, and the chance that they may not all be 
sufficiently transitory for my safety. The King likes 
variety, but he is also bound by habit; he fears 
eclats, and detests manoeuvring women. The little 
Marechale (de Mirepoix) one day said to me, * It is 
your staircase that the King loves; he is accustomed 
to go up and down it. But, if he found another 
woman to whom he could talk of hunting and busi- 
ness as he does to you, it would be just the same to 
him in three days.' " 

I write without plan, order, or date, just as things 
come into my mind; and I shall now go to the Abbe 
de Bernis, whom I liked very much, because he was 
good-natured, and treated me kindly. One day, just 
as Madame de Pompadour had finished dressing, M. 
de Noailles asked to speak to her in private. I, ac- 
cordingly, retired. The Count looked full of im- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 231 

portant business. I heard their conversation, as there 
was only the door between us. 

" A circumstance has taken place/' said he, '* which 
I think it my duty to communicate to the King; but 
I would not do so without first informing you of it, 
since it concerns one of your friends for whom I have 
the utmost regard and respect. The Abbe de Bernis 
had a mind to shoot, this morning, and went, with 
two or three of his people, armed with guns, into the 
little park, where the Dauphin would not venture to 
shoot without asking the King's permission. The 
guards, surprised at hearing the report of guns, ran 
to the spot, and were greatly astonished at the sight 
of M. de Bernis. They very respectfully asked to see 
his permission, when they found, to their astonish- 
ment, that he had none. They begged of him to 
desist, telling him that, if they did their duty, they 
should arrest him; but they must, at all events, in- 
stantly acquaint me with the circumstance, as Ranger 
of the Park of Versailles. They added, that the 
King must have heard the firing, and that they begged 
of him to retire. The Abbe apologized, on the score 
of ignorance, and assured them that he had my per- 
mission. ' The Comte de Noailles,' said they, ' could 
only grant permission to shoot in the more remote 
parts, and in the great park.' " The Count made 
a great merit of his eagerness to give the earliest 
information to Madame. She told him to leave the 
task of communicating it to the King to her, and 
begged of him to say nothing about the matter. M. 
de Marigny, who did not like the Abbe, came to see me 
in the evening; and I affected to know nothing of 
the story, and to hear it for the first time from him. 
" He must have been out of his senses," said he, '' to 
shoot under the King's windows," — and enlarged 
much on the airs he gave himself. Madame de Pom- 



232 • MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

padour gave this affair the best colouring she could: 
the King was, nevertheless, greatly disgusted at it, 
and twenty times, since the Abbe's disgrace, when he 
passed over that part of the park, he said, " This is 
where the Abbe took his pleasure." The King never 
liked him; and Madame de Pompadour told me one 
night, after his disgrace, when I was sitting up with 
her in her illness, that she saw, before he had been 
Minister a week, that he was not fit for his office. 
" If that hypocritical Bishop," said she, speaking of 
the Bishop of Mirepoix, " had not prevented the King 
from granting him a pension of four hundred louis a 
year, which he had promised me, he would never 
have been appointed Ambassador. I should, after- 
wards, have been able to give him an income of eight 
hundred louis a year, perhaps the place of master of 
the chapel. Thus he would have been happier, and I 
should have had nothing to regret." I took the lib- 
erty of saying that I did not agree with her. That 
he had yet remaining advantages, of which he could 
not be deprived; that his exile would terminate; and 
that he would then be a Cardinal, with an income of 
eight thousand louis a year. " That is true," she 
replied ; " but I think of the mortifications he has 
undergone, and of the ambition which devours him; 
and, lastly, I think of myself. I should have still 
enjoyed his society, and should have had, in my de- 
clining years, an old and amiable friend, if he had 
not been Minister." The King sent him away in 
anger, and was strongly inclined to refuse him the 
hat. M. Quesnay told me, some months afterwards, 
that the Abbe wanted to be Prime Minister; that he 
had drawn up a memorial, setting forth that in diffi- 
cult crises the public good required that there should 
be a central point (that was his expression), towards 
which everything should be directed. Madame de 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 233 

Pompadour would not present the memorial; he 
insisted, though she said to him, '' Yon will ruin your- 
self '' The King cast his eyes over it, and said " ' cen- 
tral point' — that is to say himself, he wants to be 
Prime Minister." Madame tried to apologize for him, 
and said, " That expression might refer to the 
Marechal de Belle-Isle/' " Is he not just about to be 
made Cardinal?" said the King. "This is a fine 
manoeuvre; he knows well enough that, by means of 
that dignity, he would compel the Ministers to as- 
semble at his house, and then M. I'Abbe would be the 
central point. Wherever there is a Cardinal in the 
council, he is sure, in the end, to take the lead. Louis 
XIV., for this reason, did not choose to admit the 
Cardinal de Janson into the council, in spite of his 
great esteem for him. The Cardinal de Fleury told 
me the same thing. He had some desire that the 
Cardinal de Tencin should succeed him; but his sister 
was such an intrigante that Cardinal de Fleury ad- 
vised me to have nothing to do with the matter, and I 
behaved so as to destroy all his hopes, and to unde- 
ceive others. M. d'Argenson has strongly impressed 
me with the same opinion, and has succeeded in de- 
stroying all my respect for him." This is what the 
King said, according to my friend Quesnay, who, by 
the bye, was a great genius, as everybody said, and a 
very lively, agreeable man. He liked to chat with me 
about the country. I had been bred up there, and he 
used to set me a talking about the meadows of Nor- 
mandy and Poitou, the wealth of the farmers, and the 
modes of culture. He was the best-natured man in 
the world, and the farthest removed from petty in- 
trigue. While he lived at Court, he was much more 
occupied with the best manner of cultivating land 
than with anything that passed around him. The 
man whom he esteemed the most was M. de la 



234 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

'Riviere, a Counsellor of Parliament, who was also 
Intendant of Martinique; he looked upon him as a 
man of the greatest genius, and thought him the only 
person fit for the financial department of adminis- 
tration. 

The Comtesse d'Estrades, who owed everything to 
Madame de Pompadour, was incessantly intriguing 
against her. She was clever enough to destroy all 
proofs of her manoeuvres, but she could not so easily 
prevent suspicion. Her intimate connection with M. 
d' Argenson gave ofYence to Madame, and, for some 
time, she was more reserved with her. She, after- 
wards, did a thing which justly irritated the King and 
Madame. The King, who wrote a great deal, had 
written to Madame de Pompadour a long letter con- 
cerning an assembly of the Chambers of Parliament, 
and had enclosed a letter of M. Berrier. Madame 
was ill, and laid those letters on a little table by her 
bedside. M. de Gontaut came in, and gossipped 
about trifles, as usual. Madame d'Amblimont also 
came, and stayed but very little time. Just as I was 
going to resume a book which I had been reading to 
Madame, the Comtesse d'Estrades entered, placed her- 
self near Madame's bed, and talked to her for some 
time. As soon as she was gone, Madame called me, 
asked what was o'clock, and said, " Order my door to 
be shut, the King will soon be here." I gave the 
order, and returned; and Madame told me to give 
her the King's letter, which was on the table with 
some other papers. I gave her the papers, and told 
her there was nothing else. She was very uneasy at 
not finding the letter, and, after enumerating the per- 
sons who had been in the room, she said, " It cannot 
be the little Countess, nor Gontaut, who has taken 
this letter. It can only be the Comtesse d'Estrades; 
— and that is too bad." The King came, and was 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 235 

extremely angry, as Madame told me. Two days 
afterwards, he sent Madame d'Estrades into exile. 
There was no doubt that she took the letter; the 
King's handwriting had probably awakened her curi- 
osity. This occurrence gave great pain to M. d'Ar- 
genson, who was bound to her, as Madame de Pom- 
padour said, by his love of intrigue. This redoubled 
his hatred of Madame, and she accused him of favour- 
ing the publication of a libel, in which she was repre- 
sented as a worn-out mistress, reduced to the vile 
occupation of providing new objects to please her 
lover's appetite. She was characterised as superin- 
tendent of the Parc-aux-cerfs, which was said to cost 
hundreds of thousands of louis a year. Madame de 
Pompadour did, indeed, try to conceal some of the 
King's weaknesses, but she never knew one of the sul- 
tanas of that seraglio. There were, however, scarcely 
ever more than two at once, and often only one. 
When they married, they received some jewels, and 
four thousand louis. The Parc-aux-cerfs was some- 
times vacant for five or six months. I was surprised, 
some time after, at seeing the Duchesse de Luynes, 
Lady of Honour to the Queen, come privately to see 
Madame de Pompadour. She afterwards came openly. 
One evening, after Madame was in bed, she called me, 
and said, '' My dear, you will be delighted; the Queen 
has given me the place of Lady of the Palace; to- 
morrow I am to be presented to her: you must make 
me look well." I knew that the King was not so well 
pleased at this as she was; he was afraid that it 
would give rise to scandal, and that it might be 
thought he had forced this nomination upon the 
Queen. He had, however, done no such thing. It 
had been represented to the Queen that it was an act 
of heroism on her part to forget the past; that all 
scandal would be obliterated when Madame de Pom- 



^Z^ MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

padour was seen to belong to the Court in an honour- 
able manner; and that it would be the best proof that 
nothing more than friendship now subsisted between 
the King and the favourite. The Queen received her 
very graciously. The devotees flattered themselves 
they should be protected by Madame, and, for some 
time, were full of her praises. Several of the Dau- 
phin's friends came in private to see her, and some 
obtained promotion. The Chevalier du Muy, how- 
ever, refused to come. The King had the greatest 
possible contempt for them, and granted them noth- 
ing with a good grace. He, one day, said of a man 
of great family, who wished to be made Captain of the 
Guards, *' He is a double spy, who wants to be paid on 
both sides." This was the moment at which Madame 
de Pompadour seemed to me to enjoy the most com- 
plete satisfaction. The devotees came to visit her 
without scruple, and did not forget to make use of 
every opportunity of serving themselves. Madame 
de Lu — — had set them the example. The Doctor 
laughed at this change in affairs, and was very merry 
at the expense of the saints. *' You must allow, how- 
ever, that they are consistent," said I, " and may be 
sincere." "Yes," said he; "but then they should 
not ask for anything." 

One day, I was at Doctor Quesnay's, whilst 
Madame de Pompadour was at the theatre. The 
Marquis de Mirabeau came in, and the conversation 
was, for some time, extremely tedious to me, run- 
ning entirely on net produce; at length, they talked of 
other things. 

'Mirabeau said, " I think the King looks ill, he 
grows old." " So much the worse, a thousand times 
so much the worse," said Quesnay ; " it would be the 
greatest possible loss to France if he died;" and 
he raised his hands, and sighed deeply. " I do not 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 237 

doubt that you are attached to the King, and with 
reason," said Mirabeau ; " I am attached to him too ; 
but I never saw you so much moved." " Ah ! " said 
Quesnay, " I think of what would follow." " Well, 
the Dauphin is virtuous." *' Yes ; and full of good 
intentions; nor is he deficient in understanding; but 
canting hypocrites would possess an absolute empire 
over a Prince who regards them as oracles. The 
Jesuits would govern the kingdom, as they did at the 
end of Louis XIV.'s reign: and you would see the 
fanatical Bishop of Verdun Prime Minister, and La 
Vauguyon all-powerful under some other title. The 
Parliaments must then mind how they behave; they 
will not be better treated than my friends the philos- 
ophers." "But they go too far," said Mirabeau; 
"why openly attack religion?" "I allow that," re- 
plied the Doctor ; " but how is it possible not to be 
rendered indignant by the fanaticism of others, and 
by recollecting all the blood that has flowed dur- 
ing the last two hundred years ? You must not then 
again irritate them, and revive in France the time 
of Mary in England. But what is done is done, 
and I often exhort them to be moderate; I wish they 
would follow the example of our friend Duclos." 
" You are right," replied Mirabeau ; " he said to me 
a few days ago, * These philosophers are going on at 
such a rate that they will force me to go to vespers 
and high mass ; ' but, in fine, the Dauphin is virtuous, 
well-informed, and intellectual." " It is the com- 
mencement of his reign, I fear," said Quesnay, " when 
the imprudent proceedings of our friends will be rep- 
resented to him in the most unfavourable point of 
view; when the Jansenists and Molinists will make 
common cause, and be strongly supported by the 
Dauphine. I thought that M. de Muy was moder- 
ate, and that he would temper the headlong fury of 



238 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

the others; but I heard him say that Voltaire merited 
condign punishment. Be assured, sir, that the times 
of John Huss and Jerome of Prague will return; but 
I hope not to live to see it. I approve of Voltaire 
having hunted down the Pompignans : were it not for 
the ridicule with which he covered them, that bour- 
geois Marquis would have been preceptor to the young 
Princes, and, aided by his brother, would have suc- 
ceeded in again lighting the faggots of persecution." 
" What ought to give you confidence in the Dauphin," 
said Mirabeau, " is, that, notwithstanding the devo- 
tion of Pompignan, he turns him into ridicule. A 
short time back, seeing him strutting about with an 
air of inflated pride, he said to a person, who told it 
to me, ' Our friend Pompignan thinks that he is some- 
thing.' " On returning home, I wrote down this con- 
versation. 

I, one day, found Quesnay in great distress. " Mira- 
beau," said he, " is sent to Vincennes, for his work 
on taxation. The Farmers General have denounced 
him, and procured his arrest; his wife is going to 
throw herself at the feet of Madame de Pompadour 
to-day." A few minutes afterwards, I went into 
Madame's apartment, to assist at her toilet, and the 
Doctor came in. Madame said to him, " You must 
be much concerned at the disgrace of your friend 
Mirabeau. I am sorry for it too, for I like his 
brother." Quesnay replied, " I am very far from be- 
lieving him to be actuated by bad intentions, Madame ; 
he loves the King and the people." '' Yes," said 
she ; " his Ami des Hommes did him great honour." 
At this moment the Lieutenant of Police entered, and 
Madame said to him, " Have you seen M. de Mira- 
beau's book?" "Yes, Madame; but it was not I 
who denounced it?" "What do you think of it?" 
" I think he might have said almost all it contains 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 239 

with impunity, if he had been more circumspect as to 
the manner; there is, among other objectionable 
passages, this, which occurs at the beginning: Your 
Majesty has about twenty millions of subjects; it is 
only by means of money that you can obtain their serv- 
ices, and there is no money/' " What, is there really 
that. Doctor ? " said Madame. " It is true, they are 
the first lines in the book, and I confess that they are 
imprudent; but, in reading the work, it is clear that 
he laments that patriotism is extinct in the hearts of 
his fellow-citizens, and that he desires to rekindle it." 
The King entered : we went out, and I wrote down 
on Quesnay's table what I had just heard. I then 
returned to finish dressing Madame de Pompadour: < 
she said to me, " The King is extremely angry with 
Mirabeau; but I tried to soften him, and so did 
the Lieutenant of Police. This will increase Quesnay's 
fears. Do you know what he said to me to-day? 
The King had been talking to him in my room, and 
the Doctor appeared timid and agitated. After the 
King was gone, I said to him, ' You always seem so 
embarrassed in the King's presence, and yet he is so 
good-natured.' ' Madame,' said he, * I left my native 
village at the age of forty, and I have very little 
experience of the world, nor can I accustom myself 
to its usages without great difficulty. When I am 
in a room with the King, I say to myself, ' This is a 
man who can order my head to be cut off; and that 
idea embarrasses me.' ' But do not the King's jus- 
tice and kindness set you at ease ? ' ' That is very 
true in reasoning,' said he ; ' but the sentiment is 
more prompt, and inspires me with fear before I have 
time to say to myself all that is calculated to allay 
it.' " 

I got her to repeat this conversation, and wrote it 
down immediately, that I might not forget it. 



240 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

An anonymous letter was addressed to the King 
and Madame de Pompadour; and, as the author was 
very anxious that it should not miscarry, he sent 
copies to the Lieutenant of Police, sealed and directed 
to the King, to Madame de Pompadour, and to M. de 
Marigny. This letter produced a strong impression 
on Madame, and on the King, and still more, I believe, 
on the Due de Choiseul, who had received a similar 
one. I went on my knees to M. de Marigny, to pre- 
vail on him to allow me to copy it, that I might show 
it to the Doctor. It is as follows : 

" Sire — It is a zealous servant who writes to Your 
Majesty. Truth is always better, particularly to 
Kings; habituated to flattery, they see objects only 
under those colours most likely to please them. I 
have reflected, and read much; and here is what my 
meditations have suggested to me to lay before Your 
Majesty. They have accustomed you to be invisible, 
and inspired you with a timidity which prevents you 
from speaking; thus all direct communication is cut 
off between the master and his subjects. Shut up in 
the interior of your palace, you are becoming every 
day like the Emperors of the East ; but see. Sire, their 
fate! 'I have troops,' Your Majesty will say; such, 
also, is their support: but, when the only security of 
a King rests upon his troops; when he is only, as one 
may say, a King of the soldiers, these latter feel their 
own strength, and abuse it. Your finances are in the 
greatest disorder, and the great majority of states 
have perished through this cause. A patriotic spirit 
sustained the ancient states, and united all classes for 
the safety of their country. In the present times, 
money has taken the place of this spirit; it has be- 
come the universal lever, and you are in want of it. 
A spirit of finance afiFects every department of the 
state; it reigns triumphant at Court; all have become 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 241 

venal ; and all distinction of rank is broken up. Your 
Ministers are without genius and capacity since the 
dismissal of MM. d'Argenson and de Machault. You 
alone cannot judge of their incapacity, because they 
lay before you what has been prepared by skilful 
clerks, but which they pass as their own. They pro- 
vide only for the necessity of the day, but there is no 
spirit of government in their acts. The military 
changes that have taken place disgust the troops, and 
cause the most deserving officers to resign; a sedi* 
tious flame has sprung up in the very bosom of the 
Parliaments; you seek to corrupt them, and the rem- 
edy is worse than the disease. It is introducing vice 
into the sanctuary of justice, and gangrene into the 
vital parts of the commonwealth. Would a corrupted 
Parliament have braved the fury of the League, in 
order to preserve the crown for the legitimate sover- 
eign? Forgetting the maxims of Louis XIV., who 
well understood the danger of confiding the admin- 
istration to noblemen, you have chosen M. de Choiseul, 
and even given him three departments; which is a 
much heavier burden than that which he would have 
to support as Prime Minister, because the latter has 
only to oversee the details executed by the Secretaries 
of State. The public fully appreciate this dazzling 
Minister. He is nothing more than a petit-maUre, 
without talents or information, who has a little phos- 
phorus in his mind. There is a thing well worthy of 
remark. Sire ; that is, the open war carried on against 
religion. Henceforward there can spring up no new 
sects, because the general belief has been shaken, that 
no one feels inclined to occupy himself with difference 
of sentiment upon some of the articles. The Encyclo- 
pedists, under pretence of enlightening mankind, are 
sapping the foundations of religion. All the different 
kinds of liberty are connected; the Philosophers and 



242 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

the Protestants tend towards republicanism, as well 
as the Jansenists. The Philosophers strike at the 
root, the others lop the branches; and their efforts, 
without being concerted, will one day lay the tree 
low. Add to these the Economists, whose object is 
political liberty, as that of the others is liberty of 
worship, and the Government may find itself, in 
twenty or thirty years, undermined in every direction, 
and will then fall with a crash. If Your Majesty, 
struck by this picture, but too true, should ask me for 
a remedy, I should say, that it is necessary to bring 
back the Government to its principles, and, above 
all, to lose no time in restoring order to the state of 
the finances, because the embarrassments incident to 
a country in a state of debt necessitate fresh taxes, 
which, after grinding the people, induce them towards 
revolt. It is my opinion that Your Majesty would 
do well to appear more among your people; to shew 
your approbation of useful services, and your dis- 
pleasure of errors and prevarications, and neglect of 
duty: in a word, to let it be seen that rewards and 
punishments, appointments and dismissals, proceed 
from yourself. You will then inspire gratitude by 
your favours, and fear by your reproaches; you will 
then be the object of immediate and personal attach- 
ment, instead of which, everything is now referred 
to your Ministers. The confidence in the King, which 
is habitual to your people, is shewn by the exclama- 
tion, so common among them, ' Ah ! if the King 
knew it.' They love to believe that the King would 
remedy all their evils, if he knew of them. But, on 
the other hand, what sort of ideas must they form of 
Kings, whose duty it is to be informed of everything, 
and to superintend everything, that concerns the pub- 
lic, but who are, nevertheless, ignorant of everything 
which the discharge of their functions requires them 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 243 

to know? ReXj roi, regere, regir, conduire — to rule, 
to conduct — these words sufficiently denote their du- 
ties. What would be said of a father who got rid 
of the charge of his children as of a burthen? 

" A time will come, Sire, when the people shall be 
enlightened — and that time is probably approaching. 
Resume the reins of government, hold them with a 
firm hand, and act, so that it cannot be said of you, 
Fceminas et scorta volvit animo et hcBC principatus 
prcemia putat: — Sire, if I see that my sincere advice 
should have produced any change, I shall continue 
it, and enter into more details; if not, I shall remain 
silent." 

Now that I am upon the subject of anonymous 
letters to the King, I must just mention that it is 
impossible to conceive how frequent they were. Peo- 
ple were extremely assiduous in telling either un- 
pleasant truths, or alarming lies, with a view to in- 
jure others. As an instance, I shall transcribe one 
concerning Voltaire, who paid great court to Madame 
de Pompadour when he was in France. This letter 
was written long after the former. 

" Madame — M. de Voltaire has just dedicated his 
tragedy of Tancred to you; this ought to be an offer- 
ing of respect and gratitude; but it is, in fact, an 
insult, and you will form the same opinion of it as the 
public has done if you read it with attention. You 
will see that this distinguished writer appears to be- 
tray a consciousness that the subject of his encomiums 
is not worthy of them, and to endeavour to excuse 
himself for them to the public. These are his words : 
' I have seen your graces and talents unfold them- 
selves from your infancy. At all periods of your 
life I have received proofs of your uniform and un- 
changing kindness; If any critic be found to censure 
the homage I pay you, he must have a heart formed 



244 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

for ingratitude. I am under great obligations to you, 
Madame, and these obligations it is my duty to pro- 
claim/ 

" What do these words really signify, unless that 
Voltaire feels it may be thought extraordinary that 
he should dedicate his work to a woman who possesses 
but a small share of the public esteem, and that the 
sentiment of gratitude must plead his excuse? Why 
should he suppose that the homage he pays you will 
be censured, whilst we daily see dedications addressed 
to silly gossips who have neither rank nor celebrity, 
or to women of exceptional conduct, without any cen- 
sure being attracted by it ? " 

. M. de Marigny, and Colin, Madame de Pompadour's 
steward, were of the same opinion as Quesnay, that 
the author of this letter was extremely malicious; 
that he insulted Madame, and tried to injure Vol- 
taire; but that he was, in fact, right. Voltaire, from 
that moment, was entirely out of favour with Madame, 
and with the King, and he certainly never discovered 
the cause. 

The King, who admired everything of the age of 
Louis XIV., and recollected that the Boileaus and 
Racines had been protected by that monarch, who 
was indebted to them, in part, for the lustre of his 
reign, was flattered at having such a man as Voltaire 
among his subjects. But still he feared him, and 
had but little esteem for him. He could not help 
saying, " Moreover, I have treated him as well as 
Louis XIV. treated Racine and Boileau. I have 
given him, as Louis XIV. gave to Racine, some pen- 
sions, and a place of gentleman in ordinary. It is 
not my fault if he has committed absurdities, and 
has had the pretension to become a chamberlain, to 
wear an order, and sup with a King. It is not the 
fashion in France; and, as there are here a few more 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 245 

men of wit and noblemen than in Prussia, it would 
require that I should have a very large table to as- 
semble them all at it." And then he reckoned upon 
his fingers, Maupertuis, Fontenelle, La Mothe, Vol- 
taire, Piron, Destouches, Montesquieu, the Cardinal 
Polignac. " Your Majesty forgets," said some one, 
*' D'Alembert and Clairaut." " And Crebillon," said 
he. " And la Chaussee, and the younger Crebillon," 
said some one. " He ought to be more agreeable 
than his father." '' And there are also the Abbes 
Prevot and d'Olivet." " Pretty well," said the King; 
*^ and for the last twenty years all that (tout cela) 
would have dined and supped at my table." 

Madame de Pompadour repeated to me this conver- 
sation, which I wrote down the same evening. M. de 
Marigny, also, talked to me about it. " Voltaire," 
said he, " has always had a fancy for being Ambas- 
sador, and he did all he could to make the people 
believe that he was charged with some political mis- 
sion, the first time he visited Prussia." 

The people heard of the attempt on the King's life 
with transports of fury, and with the greatest distress. 
iTheir cries were heard under the windows of Madame 
de Pompadour's apartment. Mobs were collected, and 
Madame feared the fate of Madame de Chateau- 
roux. Her friends came in, every minute, to give 
her intelligence. Her room was, at all times, like a 
church; everybody seemed to claim a right to go in 
and out when he chose. Some came, under pretence 
of sympathising, to observe her countenance and man- 
ner. She did nothing but weep and faint away. 
Doctor Quesnay never left her, nor did I. M. de 
St. Florentin came to see her several times, so did the 
Comptroller-General, and M. Rouille; but M. de 
Machault did not come. The Duchesse de Brancas 
came very frequently. The Abbe de Bernis never 



246 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

left us, except to go to enquire for the King. The 
tears came in his eyes whenever he looked at Madame. 
Doctor Quesnay saw the King five or six times a 
day. ^' There is nothing to fear," said he to Madame. 
" If it were anybody else, he might go to a ball," 
My son went the next day, as he had done the day 
the event occurred, to see what was going on at the 
Castle. He told us, on his return, that the Keeper 
of the Seals was with the King. I sent him back, 
to see what course he took on leaving the King. He 
came running back in half an hour, to tell me that 
the Keeper of the Seals had gone to his own house, 
followed by a crowd of people. When I told this to 
Madame, she burst into tears, and said, ''Is that a 
friend? '' The Abbe de Bernis said, ''You must not 
judge him hastily, in such a moment as this." I re- 
turned into the drawing-room about an hour after, 
when the Keeper of the Seals entered. He passed 
me, with his usual cold and severe look. " How is 
Madame de Pompadour ? " said he. " Alas ! " re- 
plied I, " as you may imagine ! " He passed on to 
her closet. Everybody retired, and he remained for 
half an hour. The Abbe returned and Madame rang. 
I went into her room, the Abbe following me. She 
was in tears. " I must go, my dear Abbe," said she. 
I made her take some orange-flower water, in a sil- 
ver goblet, for her teeth chattered. She then told 
me to call her equerry. He came in, and she calmly 
gave him her orders, to have everything prepared at 
her hotel, -in Paris; to tell all her people to get 
ready to go; and to desire her coachman not to be 
out of the way. She then shut herself up, to confer 
with the Abbe de Bernis, who left her, to go to the 
Council. Her door was then shut, except to the 
ladies with whom she was particularly intimate, M. 
de Soubise, M. de Gontaut, the Ministers, and some 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 247 

others. Several ladies, in the greatest distress, came 
to talk to me in my room: they compared the con- 
duct of M. de Machault with that of M. de Richelieu, 
at Metz. Madame had related to them the circum- 
stances extremely to the honour of the Duke, and, by 
contrast, the severest satire on the Keeper of the 
Seals. *' He thinks, or pretends to think," said she, 
"that the priests will be clamorous for my dismissal; 
but Quesnay and all the physicians declare that there 
is not the slightest danger." Madame having sent for 
me, I saw the Marechale de Mirepoix coming in. 
While she was at the door, she cried out, " What are 
all those trunks, Madame? Your people tell me you 
are going." " Alas ! my dear friend, such is our 
Master's desire, as M. de Machault tells me." " And 
what does he advise ? " said the Marechale. " That 
I should go without delay." During this conversa- 
tion, I was undressing Madame, who wished to be at 
her ease on her chaise-longue. "Your Keeper of 
the Seals wants to get the power into his own hands, 
and betrays you; he who quits the field loses it." I 
went out. M. de Soubise entered, then the Abbe 
and M. de Marigny. The latter, who was very kind 
to me, came into my room an hour afterwards. I 
was alone. " She will remain," said he; "but, hush! 
— she will make an appearance of going, in order not 
to set her enemies at work. It is the little Marechale 
who prevailed upon her to stay: her keeper (so she 
called M. de Machault) will pay for it." Quesnay 
came in, and, having heard what was said, with his 
monkey airs, began to relate a fable of a fox, who, 
being at dinner with other beasts, persuaded one of 
them that his enemies were seeking him, in order that 
he might get possession of his share in his absence. 
I did not see Madame again till very late, at her go- 
ing to bed. She was more calm. Things improved. 



248 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

from day to day, and de Machault, the faithless friend, 
was dismissed. The King returned to Madame de 
Pompadour, as usual. I learnt, by M. de Marigny, 
that the Abbe had been, one day, with M. d'Argen- 
son, to endeavour to persuade him to live on friendly 
terms with Madame, and that he had been very coldly 
received. " He is the more arrogant," said he, " on 
account of Machault's dismissal, which leaves the field 
clear for him, who has more experience, and more 
talent; and I fear that he will, therefore, be disposed 
to declare war till death/' The next day, Madame 
having ordered her chaise, I was curious to know 
where she was going, for she went out but little, ex- 
cept to church, and to the houses of the Ministers. I 
was told that she was gone to visit M. d'Argenson. 
She returned in an hour, at farthest, and seemed very 
much out of spirits. She leaned on the chimney- 
piece, with her eyes fixed on the border of it. M. de 
Bernis entered. I waited for her to take off her 
cloak and gloves. She had her hands in her muff. 
The Abbe stood looking at her for some minutes; at 
last he said, " You look like a sheep in a reflecting 
mood." She awoke from her reverie, and, throwing 
her muff on the easy-chair, replied, " It is a wolf 
who makes the sheep reflect." I went out: the King 
entered shortly after, and I heard Madame de Pom- 
padour sobbing. The Abbe came into my room, and 
told me to bring some Hoffman's drops: the King 
himself mixed the draught with sugar, and presented 
it to her in the kindest manner possible. She smiled, 
and kissed the King's hands. I left the room. Two 
days after, very early in the morning, I heard of M. 
d'Argenson's exile. It was her doing, and was, in- 
deed, the strongest proof of her influence that could 
be given. The King was much attached to M. d'Ar- 
genson, and the war, then carrying on, both by sea and 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 249 

land, rendered the dismissal of two such Ministers 
extremely imprudent. This was the universal opinion 
at the time. 

Many people talk of the letter of the Comte d'Ar- 
genson to Madame d'Esparbes. I give it, according 
to the most correct version : " The doubtful is, at 
length, decided. The Keeper of the Seals is dis- 
missed. You will be recalled, my dear Countess, and 
we shall be masters of the field." 

It is much less generally known that Arboulin, 
whom Madame calls Bou-bou, was supposed to be the 
person who, on the very day of the dismissal of the 
Keeper of the Seals, bribed the Count's confidential 
courier, who gave him this letter. Is this report 
founded on truth ? I cannot swear that it is ; but it 
is asserted that the letter is written in the Count's 
style. Besides, who could so immediately have in- 
vented it? It, however, appeared certain, from the 
extreme displeasure of the King, that he had some 
other subject of complaint against M. d'Argenson, 
besides his refusing to be reconciled with Madame. 
Nobody dares to show the slightest attachment to the 
disgraced Minister. I asked the ladies who were 
most intimate with Madame de Pompadour, as well 
as my own friends, what they knew of the matter; 
but they knew nothing. I can understand why Ma- 
dame did not let them into her confidence at that 
moment. She will be less reserved in time. I care 
very little about it, since I see that she is well, and ap- 
pears happy. 

The King said a thing, which did him honour, to a 
person whose name Madame withheld from me. A 
nobleman, who had been a most assiduous courtier of 
the Count, said, rubbing his hands with an air of 
great joy, " I have just seen the Comte d'Argenson's 
baggage set out." When the King heard him, he 



250 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

went up to Madame, shrugged his shoulders, and 
said, " And immediately the cock crew." 

I believe this is taken from Scripture, where Peter 
denies Our Lord. I confess, this circumstance gave 
me great pleasure. It showed that the King is not 
the dupe of those around him, and that he hates 
treachery and ingratitude. 

Madame sent for me yesterday evening, at seven 
o'clock, to read something to her; the ladies who 
were intimate with her were at Paris, and M. de Gon- 
taut ill. '' The King," said she, *' will stay late at 
the Council this evening; they are occupied with the 
affairs of the Parliament again." She bade me leave 
off reading, and I was going to quit the room, but 
she called out, " Stop." She rose ; a letter was 
brought in for her, and she took it with an air of im- 
patience and ill-humour. After a considerable time 
she began to talk openly, which only happened when 
she was extremely vexed; and, as none of her con- 
fidential friends were at hand, she said to me, '' This 
is from my brother. It is what he would not have 
dared to say to me, so he writes. I had arranged 
a marriage for him with the daughter of a man of 
title; he appeared to be well inclined to it, and I, 
therefore, pledged my word. He now tells me that 
he has made inquiries; that the parents are people 
of insupportable hauteur; that the daughter is very 
badly educated; and that he knows, from authority 
not to be doubted, that when she heard this marriage 
discussed, she spoke of the connection with the most 
supreme contempt; that he is certain of this fact; and 
that I was still more contemptuously spoken of than 
himself. In a word, he begs me to break off the 
treaty. But he has let me go too far; and now he 
will make these people my irreconcilable enemies. 
This has been put in his head by some of his flat- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 251 

terers; they do not wish him to change his way of 
living; and very few of them would be received by 
his wife." I tried to soften Madame, and, though 
I did not venture to tell her so, I thought her brother 
right. She persisted in saying these were lies, and, 
on the following Sunday, treated her brother very 
coldly. He said nothing to me at that time; if he 
had, he would have embarrassed me greatly. Madame 
atoned for everything by procuring favours, which 
were the means of facilitating the young lady's mar- 
riage with a gentleman of the Court. Her conduct, 
two months after marriage, compelled Madame to 
confess that her brother had been perfectly right. 

I saw my friend, Madame du Chiron. " Why," 
said she, " is the Marquise so violent an enemy to the 
Jesuits? I assure you she is wrong. All-powerful 
as she is, she may find herself the worse for their 
enmity." I replied that I knew nothing about the 
matter. ''It is, however, unquestionably a fact; and 
she does not feel that a word more or less might de- 
cide her fate." "How do you mean?" said I. 
" Well, I will explain myself fully," said she. " You 
know what took place at the time the King was 
stabbed: an attempt was made to get her out of the 
Castle instantly. The Jesuits have no other object 
than the salvation of their penitents; but they are 
men, and hatred may, without their being aware of it, 
influence their minds, and inspire them with a greater 
degree of severity than circumstances absolutely de- 
mand. Favour and partiality may, on the other hand, 
induce the confessor to make great concessions; and 
the shortest interval may suffice to save a favourite, 
especially if any decent pretext can be found for pro- 
longing her stay at Court." I agreed with her in 
all she said, but I told her that I dared not touch 
that string. On reflecting on this conversation after- 



252 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

wards, I was forcibly struck with this fresh proof of 
the intrigues of the Jesuits, which, indeed, I knew well 
already. I thought that, in spite of what I had re- 
plied to Madame du Chiron, I ought to communicate 
this to Madame de Pompadour, for the ease of my 
conscience ; but that I would abstain from making any 
reflection upon it. " Your friend, Madame du 
Chiron," said she, " is, I perceive, affiliated to the 
Jesuits, and what she says does not originate with 
herself. She is commissioned by some reverend 
father, and I will know by whom." Spies were, ac- 
cordingly, set to watch her movements, and they dis- 
covered that one Father de Saci, and, still more par- 
ticularly, one Father Frey, guided this lady's conduct, 
" What a pity," said Madame to me, " that the Abbe 
Chauvelin cannot know this." He was the most for- 
midable enemy of the reverend fathers. Madame 
du Chiron always looked upon me as a Jansenist, be- 
cause I would not espouse the interests of the good 
fathers with as much warmth as she did. 

Madame is completely absorbed in the Abbe de 
Bernis, whom she thinks capable of anything; she 
talks of him incessantly. Apropos of this Abbe, I 
must relate an anecdote, which almost makes one be- 
lieve in conjurors. A year, or fifteen months, before 
her disgrace, Madame de Pompadour, being at Fon- 
tainebleau, sat down to write at a desk, over which 
hung a portrait of the King. While she was shut- 
ting the desk, after she had finished writing, the 
picture fell, and struck her violently on the head. 
The persons who saw the accident were alarmed, and 
sent for Dr. Quesnay. He asked the circumstances 
of the case, and ordered bleeding and anodynes. Just 
as she had been bled, Madame de Brancas entered, 
and saw us all in confusion and agitation, and 
Madame lying on her chaise-longue. She asked what 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 253 

was the matter, and was told. After having ex- 
pressed her regret, and having consoled her, she said, 
" I ask it as a favour of Madame, and of the King 
(who had just come in), that they will instantly send 
a courier to the Abbe de Bernis, and that the Marquise 
will have the goodness to write a letter, merely re- 
questing him to inform her what his fortune-tellers 
told him, and to withhold nothing from the fear of 
making her uneasy." The thing was done as she de- 
sired, and she then told us that La Bontemps had 
predicted, from the dregs in the coffee-cup, in which 
she read everything, that the head of her best friend 
was in danger, but that no fatal consequences would 
ensue. 

The next day, the Abbe wrote word that Madame 
Bontemps also said to him, " You came into the world 
almost black," and that this was the fact. This 
colour, which lasted for some time, was attributed 
to a picture which hung at the foot of his mother's 
bed, and which she often looked at. It represented 
a Moor bringing to Cleopatra a basket of flowers, 
containing the asp by whose bite she destroyed her- 
self. He said that she also told him, " You have a 
great deal of money about you, but it does not belong 
to you ; " and that he had actually in his pocket two 
hundred louis for the Due de La Valliere. Lastly, 
he informed us that she said, looking in the cup, " I 
see one of your friends — the best — a distinguished 
lady, threatened with an accident ; " that he confessed 
that, in spite of all his philosophy, he turned pale; that 
she remarked this, looked again into the cup, and con- 
tinued, " Her head will be slightly in danger, but 
of this no appearance will remain half an hour after- 
wards." It was im.possible to doubt the facts. They 
appeared so surprising to the King, that he desired 
some inquiry to be made concerning the fortune- 



254 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

teller. Madame, however, protected her from the 
pursuit of the Police. 

A man, who was quite as astonishing as this for- 
tune-teller, often visited Madame de Pompadour. 
This was the Comte de St. Germain, who wished to 
have it believed that he had lived several centuries. 
One day, at her toilet, Madame said to him, in my 
presence, " What was the personal appearance of 
Francis I.? He was a King I should have liked." 
'' He was, indeed, very captivating," said St. Ger- 
main; and he proceeded to describe his face and per- 
son as one does that of a man one has accurately 
observed. " It is a pity he was too ardent. I could 
have given him some good advice, which would have 
saved him from all his misfortunes; but he would not 
have followed it; for it seems as if a fatality attended 
Princes, forcing them to shut their ears, those of the 
mind, at least, to the best advice, and especially in 
the most critical moments." '' And the Constable," 
said Madame, '' what do you say of him? " '' I can- 
not say much good or much harm of him," replied 
he. " Was the Court of Francis I. very brilliant ? " 
"Very brilHant; but those of his grandsons infinitely 
surpassed it. In the time of Mary Stuart and Mar- 
garet of Valois it was a land of enchantment — a 
temple, sacred to pleasures of every kind; those of 
the mind were not neglected. The two Queens were 
learned, wrote verses, and spoke with captivating 
grace and eloquence." Madame said, laughing, 
" You seem to have seen all this." '* I have an ex- 
cellent memory," said he, " and have read the history 
of France with great care. I sometimes amuse my- 
self, not by making, but by letting it be believed that I 
lived in old times." " You do not tell me your age, 
however, and you give yourself out for very old. The 
Comtesse de Gergy, who was Ambassadress to Venice, 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 255 

I think, fifty years ago, says she knew you there 
exactly what you are now." " It is true, Madame, 
that I have known Madame de Gergy a long time." 
*^ But, according to what she says, you would be 
more than a hundred." " That is not impossible," 
said he, laughing; " but it is, I allow, still more pos- 
sible that Madame de Gergy, for whom I have the 
greatest respect, may be in her dotage." '^ You have ' 
given her an elixir, the effect of which is surprising. 
She declares that for a long time she has felt as if 
she was only f our-and-twenty years of age ; why don't 
you give some to the King? " " Ah! Madame," said 
he, with a sort of terror, " I must be mad to think 
of giving the King an unknown drug." I went into 
my room to write down this conversation. 

Some days afterwards, the King, Madame de Pom- 
padour, some Lords of the Court, and the Comte 
de St. Germain, were talking about his secret for 
causing the spots in diamonds to disappear. The 
King ordered a diamond of middling size, which had 
a spot, to be brought. It was weighed ; and the King 
said to the Count, " It is valued at two hundred and 
forty louis; but it would be worth four hundred if it 
had no spot. Will you try to put a hundred and 
sixty louis into my pocket ? " He examined it care- 
fully, and said, " It may be done; and I will bring it 
you- again in a month." At the time appointed, the 
Count brought back the diamond without a spot, and 
gave it to the King. It was wrapped in a cloth of 
amianthus, which he took off. The King had it 
weighed, and found it but very little diminished. 
The King sent it to his jeweller by M. de Gontaut, 
without telling him anything of what had passed. 
The jeweller gave three hundred and eighty louis for 
it. The King, however, sent for it back again, and 
kept it as a curiosity. He could not overcome his 



256 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

surprise, and said that M. de St. Germain must be 
Worth milHons, especially if he had also the secret of 
making large diamonds out of a number of small 
ones. He neither said that he had, nor that he had 
not; but he positively asserted that he could make 
pearls grow, and give them the finest water. The 
King paid him great attention, and so did Madame 
de Pompadour. It was from her I learnt what I have 
just related. M. Quesnay said, talking of the pearls, 
" They are produced by a disease in the oyster. It is 
possible to know the cause of it; but, be that as it 
may, he is not the less a quack, since he pretends to 
have the elixir vitce, and to have lived several centu- 
ries. Our master is, however, infatuated by him, 
and sometimes talks of him as if his descent were il- 
lustrious." . ^ 

I have seen him f requ«|tly : he appeared to be about 
fifty; he was neither fat nor thin; he had an acute, 
intelligent look, dressed very simply, but in good 
taste ; he wore very fine diamonds in his rings, watch, 
and snuff-box. He came, one day, to visit Madame 
de Pompadour, at a time when the Court was in full 
splendour, with knee and shoe-buckles of diamonds so 
fine and brilliant that Madame said she did not believe 
the King had any equal to them. He went into the 
antechamber to take them off, and brought them to 
be examined; they were compared with others in the 
room, and the Due de Gontaut, who was 'jpresent, 
said they were both at least eight thousand louis. 
He wore, at the same time, a snuff-box of inestimable 
value, and ruby sleeve-buttons, which were perfectly 
dazzling. Nobody could find out by what means this 
man became so rich and so remarkable; but the King 
would not suffer him to be spoken of with ridicule or 
contempt. He was said to be a bastard son of the 
King of Portugal. 




MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 257 

I learnt, from M. de Marigny, that the relations of 
the good little Marechale (de Mirepoix) had been 
extremely severe upon her, for what they called the 
baseness of her conduct, with regard to Madame de 
Pompadour. They said she held the stones of the 
cherries which Madame ate in her carriage, in her 
beautiful little hands, and that she sate in the front 
of the carriage, while Madame occupied the whole 
seat in the inside. The truth was, that, in going to 
Crecy, on an insupportably hot day, they both wished 
to sit alone, that they might be cooler; and as to the 
matter of the cherries, the villagers having brought 
them some, they ate them to refresh themselves, 
while the horses were changed; and the Marechale 
emptied her pocket-handkerchief, into which they 
had both thrown the cherry-stones, out of the car- 
riage window. The people who were changing the 
horses had given their own version of the affair. 

I had, as you know, a very pretty room at Madame's 
hotel, whither I generally went privately. I had, one 
day, had visits from two or three Paris representa- 
tives, who told me news; and Madame, having sent 
for me, I went to her, and found her with M. de Gon- 
taut. I could not help instantly saying to her, " You 
must be much pleased, Madame, at the noble action 

of the Marquis de ." Madame replied, drily, 

" Hold your tongue, and listen to what I have to say 
to you." I returned to my little room, where I 
found the Comtesse d'Amblimont, to whom I men- 
tioned Madame's reception of me. '' I know what 
is the matter," said she; "it has no relation to you. 

I will explain it to you. The Marquis de has 

told all Paris, that, some days ago, going home at 
night, alone, and on foot, he heard cries in a street 
called Ferou, which is dark, and, in great part, arched 
over; that he drew his sword, and went down the 



258 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

street, in which he saw, by the light of a lamp, a very 
handsome woman, to whom some ruffians were offer- 
ing violence ; that he approached, and that the woman 
cried out, * Save me ! save me ! ' that he rushed upon 
the wretches, two of whom fought him, sword in 
hand, whilst a third held the woman, and tried to stop 
her mouth ; that he wounded one in the arm ; and that 
the ruffians, hearing people pass at the end of the 
street, and fearing they might come to his assistance, 
fled; that he went up to the lady, who told him that 
they were not robbers, but villains, one of whom was 
desperately in love with her; and that the lady knew 
not how to express her gratitude ; that she had begged 
him not to follow her, after he had conducted her to 
a fiacre; that she would not tell him her name, but 
that she insisted on his accepting a little ring, as a 
token of remembrance; and that she promised to see 
him again, and to tell him her whole history, if he 
gave her his address; that he complied with this re- 
quest of the lady, whom he represented as a charming 
person, and who, in the overflowing of her gratitude, 
embraced him several times. This is all very fine, so 
far," said Madame d'Amblimont, " but hear the rest. 

The Marquis de exhibited himself everywhere 

the next day, with a black ribbon bound round his 
arm, near the wrist, in which part he said: he had re- 
ceived the wound. He related his story to everybody, 
and everybody commented upon it after his own 
fashion. He went to dine with the Dauphin, who 
spoke to him of his bravery, and of his fair unknown, 
and told him that he had already complimented the 

Due de C on the affair. I forgot to tell you," 

continued Madame d'Amblimont, " that, on the very 
night of the adventure, he called on Madame 
d'Estillac, an old gambler, whose house is open till 
four in the morning; that everybody there was sur-- 




Madame de Pompadour. 

From the original 'painting by Nattier in the Royal Gallery in 

Scotland, 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 259 

prised at the disordered state in which he appeared; 
that his bagwig had fallen off, one skirt of his coat 
was cut, and his right hand bleeding. That they in- 
stantly bound it up, and gave him some Rota wine. 

Four days ago, the Due de C supped with the 

King, and sat near M. de St. Florentin. He talked 
to him of his relation's adventure, and asked him if 
he had made any inquiries concerning the lady. M. 
de St. Florentin coldly answered, 'No;' and M. de 
C remarked, on asking him some further ques- 
tions, that he kept his eyes fixed on his plate, looking 
embarrassed, and answered in monosyllables. He 
asked him the reason of this, upon which M. de Flo- 
rentin told him that it was extremely distressing to 
him to see him under such a mistake. ' How can 
you know that, supposing it to be the fact ? ' said M. 

de . * Nothing is more easy to prove,' replied 

M. de St. Florentin. ' You may imagine that, as 
soon as I was informed of the Marquis de 's ad- 
venture, I set on foot inquiries, the result of which 
was, that, on the night when this affair was said to 
have taken place, a party of the watch was set in 
ambuscade in this very street, for the purpose of 
catching a thief who was coming out of the gaming 
house ; that this party was there four hours, and heard 

not the slightest noise.' M. de C was greatly 

incensed at this recital, which M. de St. Florentin 
ought, indeed, to have communicated to the King. 
He has ordered, or will order, his relation to retire to 
his province. 

*' After this, you will judge, my dear, whether you 
were very likely to be graciously received when you 
went open-mouthed with your compliment to the Mar- 
quise. This adventure," continued she, " reminded 
the King of one which occurred about fifteen years 
ago. The Comte d'E , who was what is called 

Memoirs— 9 Vol. 1 



26o MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

enfant d'honneur to the Dauphin, and about fourteen 
years of age, came into the Dauphin's apartments, one 
evening, with his bag-wig snatched ofif, and his ruffles 
torn, and said that, having walked rather late near 
the piece of water des Suisses, he had been attacked 
by two robbers; that he had refused to give them 
anything, drawn his sword, and put himself in an 
attitude of defence; that one of the robbers was armed 
with a sword, the other with a large stick, from which 
he had received several blows, but that he had 
wounded one in the arm, and that, hearing a noise 
at that moment, they had fled. But unluckily for the 
little Count, it was known that people were on the 
spot at the precise time he mentioned, and had heard 
nothing. The Count was pardoned, on account of his 
youth. The Dauphin made him confess the truth, 
and it was looked upon as a childish freak to set peo^ 
pie talking about him." 

The King disliked the King of Prussia because he 
knew that the latter was in the habit of jesting upon 
his mistress, and the kind of life he led. It was 
Frederick's fault, as I have heard it said, that the 
King was not his most steadfast ally and friend, as 
much as sovereigns can be towards each other; but 
the jestings of Frederick had stung him, and made 
him conclude the treaty of Versailles. One day, he 
entered Madame's apartment with a paper in his hand, 
and said, " The King of Prussia is certainly a great 
man; he loves men of talent, and, like Louis XIV., he 
wishes to make Europe ring with his favours towards 
foreign savans. There is a letter from him, ad- 
dressed to Milord Marshal, ordering him to acquaint 
a superieur man of my kingdom (D'Alembert) that 
he has granted him a pension;" and, looking at the 
letter, he read the following words : " You must know 
that there is in Paris a man of the greatest merit. 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR S261 

whose fortune is not proportionate to his talents and 
character. I may serve as eyes to the bhnd goddess, 
and repair in some measure the injustice, and I beg- 
you to offer on that account. I flatter myself that 
he will accept this pension because of the pleasure I 
shall feel in obliging a man who joins beauty of char- 
acter to the most sublime intellectual talents." The 
King here stopped, on seeing MM. d'Ayen and de 
Gontaut enter, and then recommenced reading the let- 
ter to them, and added, " It was given me by the Min- 
ister for Foreign Affairs, to whom it was confided by 
Milord Marshal, for the purpose of obtaining my 
permission for this sublime genius to accept the 
favour. But," said the King, " what do you think is 
the amount ? " Some said six, eight, ten thousand 
livres. " You have not guessed," said the King ; " it 
is twelve hundred livres." " For sublime talents," 
said the Due d'Ayen, " it is not much. But the 
philosophers will make Europe resound with this let- 
ter, and the King of Prussia will have the pleasure 
of making a great noise at little expense." 

The Chevalier de Courten, who had been in Prus- 
sia, came in, and, hearing this story told, said, " I 
have seen what is much better than that: passing 
through a village in Prussia, I got out at the post- 
house, while I was waiting for horses; and the post- 
master, who was a captain in the Prussian service, 
showed me several letters in Frederick's handwriting, 
addressed to his uncle, who was a man of rank, prom- 
ising him to provide for his nephews; the provision 
he made for this, the eldest of these nephews, who 
was dreadfully wounded, was the postmastership 
which he then held." M. de Marigny related this 
story at Quesnay's, and added, that the man of genius 
above mentioned was D'Alembert, and that the King 
had permitted him to accept the pension. He added, 



262 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

that his sister had suggested to the King that he had 
better give D'Alembert a pension of twice the value, 
and forbid him to take the King of Prussia's. This 
advice he would not take, because he looked upon 
D'Alembert as an infidel. M. de Marigny took a copy 
of the letter, which he lent me. 

A certain nobleman, at one time, affected to cast 
tender glances on Madame Adelaide. She was 
wholly unconscious of it; but, as there are Arguses 
at Court, the King was, of course, told of it, and, 
indeed, he thought he had perceived it himself. I 
know that he came into Madame de Pompadour's 
room one day, in a great passion, and said, " Would 
you believe that there is a man in my Court insolent 
enough to dare to raise his eyes to one of my daugh- 
ters ? " Madame had never seen him so exasperated, 
and this illustrious nobleman was advised to feign a 
necessity for visiting his estates. He remained there 
two months. Madame told me, long after, that she 
thought that there were no tortures to which the King 
would not have condemned any man who had seduced 
one of his daughters. Madame Adelaide, at the time 
in question, was a charming person, and united in- 
finite grace, and much talent, to a most agreeable 
face. 

A courier brought Madame de Pompadour a letter, 
on reading which she burst into tears. It contained 
the intelligence of the battle of Rosbach, which M. de 
Soubise sent her, with all the details. I heard her 
say to the Marechal de Belle-Isle, wiping her eyes, 
" M. de Soubise is inconsolable; he does not try to 
excuse his conduct, he sees nothing but the disastrous 
fortune which pursues him." " M. de Soubise must, 
however, have many things to urge in his own be- 
half," said M. de Belle-Isle, " and so I told the King." 
*' It is very noble in you, Marshal, not to suffer 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 263 

an unfortunate man to be overwhelmed; the pubHc 
are furious against him, and what has he done to 
deserve it ? " '' There is not a more honourable nor 
a kinder man in the world. I only fulfil my duty in 
doing justice to the truth, and to a man for whom I 
have the most profound esteem. The King will ex- 
plain to you, Madame, how M. de Soubise was forced 
to give battle by the Prince of Saxe-Hildbourgshau- 
sen, whose troops fled first, and carried along the 
French troops." Madame would have embraced the 
old Marshal if she had dared, she was so delighted 
with him. 

M. de Soubise, having gained a battle, was made 
Marshal of France : Madame was enchanted with her 
friend's success. But, either it was unimportant, or 
the public were offended at his promotion; nobody 
talked of it but Madame's friends. This unpopularity 
was concealed from her, and she said to Colin, her 
steward, at her toilet, " Are you not delighted at 
the victory M. de Soubise has gained? What does 
the public say of it? He has taken his revenge well." 
Colin was embarrassed, and knew not what to an- 
swer. As she pressed him further, he replied that 
he had been ill, and had seen nobody for a week. 

M. de Marigny came to see me one day, very much 
out of humour. I asked him the cause. '' I have," 
said he, " just been intreating my sister not to make 
M. le Normand-de-Mezi Minister of the Marine. I 
told her that she was heaping coals of fire upon her 
own head. A favourite ought not to multiply the 
points of attack upon herself." The Doctor entered. 
" You," said the Doctor, '* are worth your weight 
in gold, for the good sense and capacity you have 
shewn in your office, and for your moderation, but 
you will never be appreciated as you deserve; your 
advice is excellent; there will never be a ship taken 



264 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

but Madame will be held responsible for it to the 
public, and you are very wise not to think of being in 
the Ministry yourself." 

One day, when I was at Paris, I went to dine with 
the Doctor, who happened to be there at the same 
time; there were, contrary to his usual custom, a 
good many people, and, among others, a handsome 
young Master of the Requests, who took a title from 
some place, the name of which I have forgotten, but 
who was a son of M. Turgot, the prevot des mar- 
chands. They talked a great deal about administra- 
tion, which was not very amusing to me; they then 
fell upon thg subject of the love Frenchmen bear to 
their Kings. M. Turgot here joined in the conversa- 
tion, and said, " This is not a blind attachment ; it is 
a deeply rooted sentiment, arising from an indistinct 
recollection of great benefits. The French nation — I 
may go farther — Europe, and all mankind, owe to a 
King of France " (I have forgotten his name) 
*' whatever liberty they enjoy. He established com- 
munes ^ and conferred on an immense number of men 
a civil existence. I am aware that it may be said, 
with justice, that he served his own interests by 
granting these franchises; that the cities paid him 
taxes, and that his design was to use them as instru- 
ments of weakening the power of great nobles; but 
what does that prove, but that this measure was at 
once useful, politic, and humane?" From Kings in 
general the conversation turned upon Louis XV., and 
M. Turgot remarked that his reign would be always 
celebrated for the advancement of the sciences, the 
progress of knowledge, and of philosophy. He added 
that Louis XV. was deficient in the quality which 
Louis XIV. possessed to excess; that is to say, in a 
good opinion of himself; that he was well-informed; 
that nobody was more perfectly master of the topog- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 265 

raphy of France; that his opinion in the Council was 
always the most judicious; and that it was much to 
be lamented that he had not more confidence in him- 
self, or that he did not rely upon some Minister 
who enjoyed the confidence of the nation. Everybody 
agreed with him. I begged M. Quesnay to write 
down what young Turgot had said, and showed it to 
Madame. She praised this Master of the Requests 
greatly, and spoke of him to the King. '' It is a good 
breed," said he. 

One day, I went out to walk, and saw, on my 
return, a great many people going and coming, and 
speaking to each other privately: it was evident that 
something extraordinary had happened. I asked a 
person of my acquaintance what was the matter. 
" Alas ! " said he, with tears in his eyes, " some as- 
sassins, who had formed the project of murdering the 
King, have inflicted several wounds on a garde-du- 
corps, who overheard them in a dark corridor; he is 
carried to the hospital: and as he has described the 
colour of these men's coats, the Police are in quest 
of them in all directions, and some people, dressed 
in clothes of that colour, are already arrested." I 
saw Madame with M. de Gontaut, and I hastened 
home. She found her door besieged by a multitude 
of people, and was alarmed: when she got in, she 
found the Comte de Noailles. '' What is all this. 
Count ? " said she. He said he was come expressly 
to speak to her, and they retired to her closet to- 
gether. The conference was not long. I had re- 
mained in the drawing-room, with Madame's equerry, 
the Chevalier de Sosent, Gourbillon, her valet de 
chambre, and some strangers. A great many de- 
tails were related; but, the wounds being little more 
than scratches, and the garde-du-corps having let fall 
some contradictions, it was thought that he was an 



266 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

impostor, who had invented all this story to bring 
himself into favour. Before the night was over, this 
was proved to be the fact, and, I believe, from his 
own confession. The King came, that evening, to see 
Madame de Pompadour; he spoke of this occurrence 
with great sang froid, and said, " The gentleman who 
wanted to kill me was a wicked madman; this is a low 
scoundrel." 

When he spoke of Damiens, which was only while 
his trial lasted, he never called him anything but that 
gentleman. 

I have heard it said that he proposed having him 
shut up in a dungeon for life; but that the horrible 
nature of the crime made the judges insist upon his 
suffering all the tortures inflicted upon like occasions. 
Great numbers, many of them women, had a barba- 
rous curiosity to witness the execution; amongst 

others, Madame de P , a very beautiful woman, 

and the wife of a Farmer General. She hired two 
places at a window for twelve louis, and played a game 
of cards in the room whilst waiting for the execution 
to begin. On this being told to the King, he covered 
his eyes . with his hands and exclaimed, '' Fi, la 
Vilaine!'' I have been told that she, and others, 
thought to pay their court in this way, and signalise 
their attachment to the King's person. 

Two things were related to me by M. Duclos at the 
time of the attempt on the King's life. 

The first, relative to the Comte de Sponheim, who 
was the Due de Deux-Ponts, and next in succession 
to the Palatinate and Electorate of Bavaria. He was 
thought to be a great friend to the King, and had 
made several long sojourns in France. He came fre- 
quently to see Madame. M. Duclos told us that the 
Due de Deux-Ponts, having learned, at Deux-Ponts, 
the attempt on the King's life, immediately set out 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 267 

in a carriage for Versailles : " But remark," said he, 
" the spirit of courtisanerie of a Prince, who may be 
Elector of Bavaria and the Palatinate to-morrow. 
This was not enough. When he arrived within ten 
leagues of Paris, he put on an enormous pair of 
jack-boots, mounted a post-horse, and arrived in the 
court of the palace cracking his whip. If this had 
been real impatience, and not charlatanism, he would 
have taken horse twenty leagues from Paris." " I 
don't agree with you," said a gentleman whom I did 
not know ; '' impatience sometimes seizes one towards 
the end of an undertaking, and one employs the 
readiest means then in one's power. Besides, the Due 
de Deux-Ponts might wish, by showing himself thus 
on horseback, to serve the King, to whom he is at- 
tached, by proving to Frenchmen how greatly he is 
beloved and honoured in other countries." Duclos 
resumed : " Well," said he, *' do you know the story 
of M. de C ? The first day the King saw com- 
pany, after the attempt of Damiens, M. de C 

pushed so vigorously through the crowd that he was 
one of the first to come into the King's presence, but 
he had on so shabby a black coat that it caught the 
King's attention, who burst out laughing, and said, 

* Look at C , he has had the skirt of his coat torn 

off.' M. de C looked as if he was only then first 

conscious of his loss, and said, ' Sire, there is such a 
multitude hurrying to see Your Majesty, that I was 
obliged to fight my way through them, and, in the 
effort, my coat has been torn.' ' Fortunately it was 
not worth much,' said the Marquis de Souvre, ' and 
you could not have chosen a worse one to sacrifice on 
the occasion.' " 

Madame de Pompadour had been very judiciously 
advised to get her husband, M. le Normand, sent to 
Constantinople, as Ambassador. This would have a 



268 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

little diminished the scandal caused by seeing Ma- 
dame de Pompadour, with the title of Marquise, at 
Court, and her husband Farmer General at Paris. 
But he was so attached to a Paris life, and to his 
opera habits, that he could not be prevailed upon to 
go. Madame employed a certain M. d'Arboulin, with 
whom she had been acquainted before she was at 
Court, to negotiate this affair. He applied to a 
Mademoiselle Rem, who had been an opera-dancer, 
and who was M. le Normand's mistress. She made 
him very fine promises ; but she was like him, and pre- 
ferred a Paris life. She would do nothing in it. 

At the time that plays were acted in the little 
apartments, I obtained a lieutenancy for one of my 
relations, by a singular means, which proves the value 
the greatest people set upon the slightest access to the 
Court. Madame did not like to ask anything of M. 
d'Argenson, and, being pressed by my family, who 
could not imagine that, situated as I was, it could be 
difficult for me to obtain a command for a good sol- 
dier, I determined to go and ask the Comte d'Argen- 
son. I made my request, and presented my memorial. 
He received me coldly, and gave me vague answers. 

I went out, and the Marquis de V , who was in 

his closet, followed me. " You wish to obtain a com- 
mand," said he; "there is one vacant, which is prom- 
ised me for one of my proteges; but if you will do 
me a favour in return, or obtain one for me, I will 
give it to you. I want to be a police officer, and you 
have it in your power to get me a place." I told him 
I did not understand the purport of his jest. " I will 
tell you," said he ; '' Tartuife is going to be acted in 
the cabinets, and there is the part of a police officer, 
which only consists of a few lines. Prevail upon 
Madame de Pompadour to assign me that part, and 
the command is yours." I promised nothing, but I re- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 269 

lated the history to Madame, who said she would ar- 
range it for me. The thing was done, and I obtained 

the command, and the Marquis de V thanked 

Madame as if she had made him a Duke. 

The King was often annoyed by the Parliaments, 
and said a very remarkable thing concerning them, 
which M. de Gontaut repeated to Doctor Quesnay in 
my presence. " Yesterday," said he, *' the King 
walked up and down the room with an anxious air. 
Madame de Pompadour asked him if he was uneasy 
about his health, as he had been, for some time, 
rather unwell. ' No,' replied he ; ' but I am greatly 
annoyed by all these remonstrances.' ' What can 
come of them,' said she, ' that need seriously disquiet 
Your Majesty? Are you not master of the Parlia- 
ments, as well as of all the rest of the king- 
dom?' ' That is true,' said the King; ^but, if it had 
not been for these counsellors and presidents, I should 
never have been stabbed by that gentleman' (he al- 
ways called Damiens so). ^ Ah! Sire,' cried Madame 
de Pompadour. ' Read the trial,' said he. * It was 
the language of those gentlemen he names which 
turned his head.' * But,' said Madame, ' I have often 
thought that, if the Archbishop could be sent to 
Rome — ' ' Find anybody who will accomplish that 
business, and I will give him whatever he pleases.' " 
Quesnay said the King was right in all he had ut- 
tered. The Archbishop was exiled shortly after, and 
the King was seriously afflicted at being driven to 
take such a step. '* What a pity," he often said, " that 
so excellent a man should be so obstinate." '* And so 
shallow," said somebody, one day. '' Hold your 
tongue," replied the King, somewhat sternly. The 
Archbishop was very charitable, and liberal to excess, 
but he often granted pensions without discernment. 
He granted one of an hundred louis to a pretty 



270 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

woman, who was very poor, and who assumed an 
illustrious name, to which she had no right. The 
fear lest she should be plunged into vice led him to 
bestow such excessive bounty upon her; and the 
woman was an admirable dissembler. She went to 
the Archbishop's, covered with a great hood, and, 
when she left him, she amused herself with a variety 
of lovers. 

Great people have the bad habit of talking very 
indiscreetly before their servants. M. de Gontaut once 
said these words covertly, as he thought, to the 

Due de , " That measures had been taken which 

would, probably, have the effect of determining the 
Archbishop to go to Rome, with a Cardinal's hat; 
and that, if he desired it, he was to have a coadju- 
tor." 

A very plausible pretext had been found for making 
this proposition, and for rendering it flattering to the 
Archbishop, and agreeable to his sentiments. The 
affair had been very adroitly begun, and success ap- 
peared certain. The King had the air, towards the 
Archbishop, of entire unconsciousness of what was 
going on. The negotiator acted as if he were only 
following the suggestions of his own mind, for the 
general good. He was a friend of the Archbishop, 
and was very sure of a liberal reward. A valet of the 
Due de Gontaut, a very handsome young fellow, had 
perfectly caught the sense of what was spoken in a 
mysterious manner. He was one of the lovers of the 
lady of the hundred louis a year, and had heard her 
talk of the Archbishop, whose relation she pretended 
to be. He thought he should secure her good graces 
by informing her that great efforts were being made 
to induce her patron to reside at Rome, with a view 
to get him away from Paris. The lady instantly told 
the Archbishop, as she was afraid of losing her pen- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 271 

sion if he went. The information squared so well 
with the negotiation then on foot, that the Archbishop 
had no doubt of its truth. He cooled, by degrees, in 
his conversations with the negotiator, whom he re- 
garded as a traitor, and ended by breaking with him. 
These details were not known till long afterwards. 
The lover of the lady having been sent to the Bicetre, 
some letters were found among his papers, which gave 
a scent of the affair, and he was made to confess the 
rest. 

In order not to compromise the Due de Gontaut, 
the King was told that the valet had come to a knowl- 
edge of the business from a letter which he had found 
in his master's clothes. The King took his revenge 
by humiliating the Archbishop, which he was enabled 
to do by means of the information he had obtained 
concerning the conduct of the lady, his protegee. 
She was found guilty of swindling, in concert with 
her beloved valet; but, before her punishment was 
inflicted, the Lieutenant of Police was ordered to lay 
before Monseigneur a full account of the conduct of 
his relation and pensioner. The Archbishop had noth- 
ing to object to in the proofs which were submitted 
to him; he said, with perfect calmness, that she was 
not his relation; and, raising his hands to heaven, 
*' She is an unhappy wretch," said he, " who has 
robbed me of the money which was destined for the 
poor. But God knows that, in giving her so large 
a pension, I did not act lightly. I had, at the time, 
before my eyes the example of a young woman who 
once asked me to grant her seventy louis a year, 
promising me that she would always live very virtu- 
ously, as she had hitherto done. I refused her, and 
she said, on leaving me, ' I must turn to the left, 
Monseigneur, since the way on the right is closed 
against me.' The unhappy creature has kept her word 



2/2 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

but too well. She found means of establishing a 
faro-table at her house, which is tolerated; and she 
joins to the most profligate conduct in her own person 
the infamous trade of a corrupter of youth ; her house 
is the abode of every vice. Think, sir, after that, 
whether it was not an act of prudence, on my part, to 
grant the woman in question a pension, suitable to 
the rank in which I thought her born, to prevent her 
abusing the gifts of youth, beauty, and talents, which 
she possessed, to her own perdition, and the destruc- 
tion of others." The Lieutenant of Police told the 
King that he was touched with the candour and the 
noble simplicity of the prelate. " I never doubted his 
virtues," replied the King, " but I wish he would be 
quiet." This same Archbishop gave a pension of fifty 
louis a year to the greatest scoundrel in Paris. He is 
a poet, who writes abominable verses; this pension 
is granted on condition that his poems are never 
printed. I learned this fact from M. de Marigny, to 
whom he recited some of his horrible verses one even- 
ing, when he supped with him, in company with 
some people of quality. He chinked the money in his 
pocket. " This is my good Archbishop's," said he, 
laughing; " I keep my word with him: my poem will 
not be printed during my life, but I read it. What 
would the good prelate say if he knew that I shared 
my last quarter's allowance with a charming little 
opera-dancer ? * It is the Archbishop, then, who keeps 
me,' said she to me ; * Oh, la ! how droll that is ! ' " 
The King heard this, and was much scandalised at 
it. '' How difficult it is to do good ! " said he. 

The King came into Madame de Pompadour's 
room, one day, as she was finishing dressing. " I 
have just had a strange adventure," said he : " would 
you believe that, in going out of my wardroom into 
my bedroom, I met a gentleman face to face ? " '' My 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 273 

God ! Sire," cried Madame, terrified. " It was noth- 
ing," replied he ; *' but I confess I was greatly sur- 
prised: the man appeared speechless with consterna- 
tion. ' What do you do here ? ' cried I, civilly. He 
threw himself on his knees, saying, ' Pardon me, Sire; 
and, above all, have me searched.' He instantly 
emptied his pockets himself; he pulled off his coat in 
the greatest agitation and terror: at last he told me 

that he was cook to , and a friend of Beccari, 

whom he came to visit; that he had mistaken the 
staircase, and, finding all the doors open, he had 
wandered into the room in which I found him, and 
which he would have instantly left: I rang; Guimard 
came, and was astonished enough at finding me tete- 
a-tete with a man in his shirt. He begged Guimard 
to go with him into another room, and to search his 
whole person. After this, the poor devil returned, 
and put on his coat. Guimard said to me, ' He is 
certainly an honest man, and tells the truth; this may, 
besides, be easily ascertained.' Another of the ser- 
vants of the palace came in, and happened to know 
him. ' I will answer for this good man,' said he, * who, 
moreover, makes the best hoeuf a Vecarlate in the 
world.' As I saw the man was so agitated that he 
could not stand steady, I took fifty louis out of my 
bureau, and said, * Here, sir, are fifty louis, to quiet 
your alarms.' He went out, after throwing himself 
at my feet." Madame exclaimed on the impropriety 
of having the King's bedroom thus accessible to 
everybody. He talked with great calmness of this 
strange apparition, but it was evident that he con- 
trolled himself, and that he had, in fact, been much 
frightened, as, indeed, he had reason to be. Madame 
highly approved of the gift; and she was the more 
right in applauding it, as it was by no means in the 
King's usual manner. M. de Marigny said, when I 



274 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

told him of this adventure, that he would have 
wagered a thousand louis against the King's making 
a present of fifty, if anybody but I had told him of 
the circumstance. "It is a singular fact," continued 
he, " that all of the race of Valois have been liberal 
to excess ; this is not precisely the case with the Bour- 
bons, who are rather reproached with avarice. Henri 
IV. was said to be avaricious. He gave to his mis- 
tresses, because he could refuse them nothing; but 
he played with the eagerness of a man whose whole 
fortune depends on the game. Louis XIV. gave 
through ostentation. It is most astonishing," added 
he, " to reflect on what might have happened. The 
King might actually have been assassinated in his 
chamber, without anybody knowing anything of the 
matter and without a possibility of discovering the 
murderer." For more than a fortnight Madame could 
not get over this incident. 

About that time she had a quarrel with her brother, 
and both were in the right. Proposals were made to 
him to marry the daughter of one of the greatest 
noblemen of the Court, and the King consented to 
create him a Duke, and even to make the title heredi- 
tary. Madame was right in wishing to aggrandise 
her brother, but he declared that he valued his liberty 
above all things, and that he would not sacrifice it 
except for a person he really loved. He was a true 
Epicurean philosopher, and a man of great capacity, 
according to the report of those who knew him well, 
and judged him impartially. It was entirely at his 
option to have had the reversion of M. de St. Floren- 
tin's place, and the place of Minister of Marine, when 
M. de Machault retired; he said to his sister, at 'the 
time, " I spare you many vexations, by depriving you 
of a slight satisfaction. The people would be unjust 
to me, however well I might fulfil the duties of my 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR' 275 

office. As to M. de St. Florentin's place, he may live 
five-and-twenty years, so that I should not be the 
better for it. Kings' mistresses are hated enough on 
their own account; they need not also draw upon 
themselves the hatred which is directed against 
Ministers." M. Ouesnay repeated this conversation 
to me. 

The King had another mistress, who gave Madame 
de Pompadour some uneasiness. She was a woman 
of quality, and the wife of one of the most assiduous 
courtiers. 

A man in immediate attendance on the King's per- 
son, and who had the care of his clothes, came to 
me one day, and told me that, as he was very much 
attached to Madame, because she was good and useful 
to the King, he wished to inform me that, a letter 
having fallen out of the pocket of a coat which His 
Majesty had taken off, he had had the curiosity to 
read it, and found it to be from the Comtesse de 

, who had already yielded to the King's desires. 

In this letter, she required the King to give her fifty 
thousand crowns in money, a regiment for one of her 
relations, and a bishopric for another, and to dismiss 
Madame in the space of fifteen days, etc. I 
acquainted Madame with what this man told me, and 
she acted with singular greatness of mind. She said 
to me, *' I ought to inform the King of this breach of 
trust of his servant, who may, by the same means, 
come to the knowledge of, and make a bad use of, 
important secrets; but I feel a repugnance to ruin 
the man: however, I cannot permit him to remain 
near the King's person, and here is what I shall do: 
Tell him that there is a place of ten thousand francs 
a year vacant in one of the provinces; let him solicit 
the Minister of Finance for it, and it shall be granted 
to him; but, if he should ever disclose through what 



2^6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

interest he has obtained it, the King shall be made 
acquainted with his conduct. By this means, I think 
I shall have done all that my attachment and duty 
prescribe. I rid the King of a faithless domestic, 
without ruining the individual." I did as Madame 
ordered me: her delicacy and address inspired me 
with admiration. She was not alarmed on account 
of the lady, seeing what her pretensions were. " She 
drives too quick," remarked Madame, " and will cer- 
tainly be overturned on the road." The lady died. 

" See what the Court is ; all is corruption there, 
from the highest to the lowest," said I to Madame, 
one day, when she was speaking to me of some facts 
that had come to my knowledge. " I could tell you 
many others," replied Madame; "but the little 
chamber, where you often remain, must furnish you 
with a sufficient number." This was a little nook, 
from whence I could hear a great part of what passed 
in Madame's apartment. The Lieutenant of Police 
sometimes came secretly to this apartment, and 
waited there. Three or four persons, of high consid- 
eration, also found their way in, in a mysterious 
manner, and several devotees, who were, in their 
hearts, enemies of Madame de Pompadour. But 
these men had not petty objects in view : one required 
the government of a province; another, a seat in the 
Council; a third, a Captaincy of the Guards; and this 
man would have obtained it if the Marechale de 
Mirepoix had not requested it for her brother, the 
Prince de Beauvan. The Chevalier du Muy was not 
among these apostates ; not even the promise of being 
High Constable would have tempted him to make up 
to Madame, still less to betray his master, the 
Dauphin. The Prince was, to the last degree, weary 
of the station he held. Sometimes, when teased to 
death by ambitious people, who pretended to be Catos, 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 2^7 

or wonderfully devout, he took part against a 
Minister against whom he was prepossessed; then 
relapsed into his accustomed state of inactivity and 
ennui. 

The King used to say, '* My son is lazy; his temper 
is Polonese — ^hasty and changeable; he has no tastes; 
he cares nothing for hunting, for women, or for good 
living; perhaps he imagines that if he were in my 
place he would be happy ; at first, he would make great 
changes, create everything anew, as it were. In a 
short time he would be as tired of the rank of King 
as he now is of his own; he is only fit to live en 
philosophe, with clever people about him." The King 
added, " He loves what is right ; he is truly virtuous, 
and does not want understanding." 

M. de St. Germain said, one day, to the King, " To 
think well of mankind, one must be neither a Con- 
fessor, nor a Minister, nor a Lieutenant of Police." 
" Nor a King," said His Majesty. '' Ah ! Sire," replied 
he, '* you remember the fog we had a few days ago, 
when we could not see four steps before us. Kings 
are commonly surrounded by still thicker fogs, col- 
lected around them by men of intriguing character, 
and faithless Ministers — all, of every class, unite in 
endeavouring to make things appear to Kings in any 
light but the true one." I heard this from the mouth 
of the famous Comte de St. Germain, as I was 
attending upon Madame, who was ill in bed. The 
King was there; and the Count, who was a welcome 
visitor, had been admitted. There were also present, 
M. de Gontaut, Madame de Brancas, and the Abbe 
de Bernis. I remember that the very same day, after 
the Count was gone out, the King talked in a style 
which gave Madame great pain. Speaking of the 
King of Prussia, he said, " That is a madman, who 
will risk all to gain all, and may, perhaps, win the 



2^% MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

game, though he has neither reHgion, morals, nor 
principles. He wants to make a noise in the world, 
and he will succeed. Julian, the Apostate, did the 
sam6." " I never saw the King so animated before," 
observed Madame, when he was gone out ; " and 
really the comparison with Julian, the Apostate, is 
not amiss, considering the irreligion of the King of 
Prussia. If he gets out of his perplexities, sur- 
rounded as he is by his enemies, he will be one of the 
greatest men in history." 

M* de Bernis remarked, " Madame is correct in her 
judgment, for she has no reason to pronounce his 
praises; nor have I, though I agree with what she 
says." Madame de Pompadour never enjoyed so 
much influence as at the time when M. de Choiseul 
became one of the Ministry. From the time of the 
Abbe de Bernis she had afforded him her constant 
support, and he had been employed in foreign affairs, 
of which he was said to know but little. Madame 
made the Treaty of Vienna, though the first idea of 
it was certainly furnished her by the Abbe. I have 
been informed by several persons that the King often 
talked to Madame upon this subject; for my own 
part, I never heard any conversation relative to it, 
except the high praises bestowed by her on the 
Empress and the Prince de Kaunitz, whom she had 
known a good deal of. She said that he had a clear 
head, the head of a statesman. One day, when she 
was talking in this strain, some one tried to cast 
ridicule upon the Prince on account of the style in 
which he wore his hair, and the four valets de 
chambre, who made the hair-powder fly in all direc- 
tions, while Kaunitz ran about that he might only 
catch the superfine part of it. "Aye," said Madame, 
" just as Alcibiades cut off his dog's tail in order to 
give the Athenians something to talk about, and to 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 279 

turn their attention from those things he wished to 
conceal." 

Never was the public mind so inflamed against 
Madame de Pompadour as when news arrived of the 
battle of Rosbach. Every day she received anony- 
mous letters, full of the grossest abuse; atrocious 
verses, threats of poison and assassination. She con- 
tinued long a prey to the most acute sorrow, and 
could get no sleep but from opiates. All this discon- 
tent was excited by her protecting the Prince of 
Soubise; and the Lieutenant of Police had great 
difficulty in allaying the ferment of the people. The 
King affirmed that it was not his fault. M. du 
Verney was the confidant of Madame in everything 
relating to war; a subject which he well understood, 
though not a military man by profession. The old 
Marechal de Noailles called him, in derision, the Gen- 
eral of the flour, but Marechal Saxe, one day, told 
Madame that du Verney knew more of military mat- 
ters than the old Marshal. Du Verney once paid a 
visit to Madame de Pompadour, and found her in 
company with the King, the Minister of War, and 
two Marshals; he submitted to them the plan of a 
campaign, which was generally applauded. It was 
through his influence that M. de Richelieu was ap- 
pointed to the command of the army, instead of the 
Marechal d'Estrees. He came to Quesnay two days 
after, when I was with him. The Doctor began talk- 
ing about the art of war, and I remember he said, 
"Military men make a great mystery of their art; 
but what is the reason that young Princes have always 
the most brilliant success? Why, because they are 
active and daring. When Sovereigns command their 
troops in person what exploits they perform! Clearly, 
because they are at liberty to run all risks." These 
observations made a lasting impression on my mind. 



28o MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

The first physician came, one day, to see Madame: 
he was talking of madmen and madness. The King 
was present, and everything relating to disease of 
any kind interested him. The first physician said 
that he could distinguish the symptoms of approach- 
ing madness six months beforehand. " Are there any 
persons about the Court likely to become mad ? " said 
the King. " I know one who will be imbecile in less 
than three months," replied he. The King pressed 
him to tell the name. He excused himself for some 
time. At last he said, " It is M. de Sechelles, the 
Controller-General." " You have a spite against 
him," said Madame, ''because he would not grant 
what you asked." " That is true," said he, " but 
though that might possibly incline me to tell a dis- 
agreeable truth, it would not make me invent one. 
He is losing his intellects from debility. He affects 
gallantry at his age, and I perceive the connection in 
his ideas is becoming feeble and irregular." The 
King laughed; but three months afterwards he came 
to Madame, saying, *' Sechelles gives evident proofs 
of dotage in the Council. We must appoint a suc- 
cessor to him." Madame de Pompadour told me of 
this on the way to Choisy. Some time afterwards^ 
the first physician came to see Madame, and spoke to 
her in private. " You are attached to M. Berryer^ 
Madame," said he, " and I am sorry to have to warn 
you that he will be attacked by madness, or by cata- 
lepsy, before long. I saw him this morning at chapel, 
sitting on one of those very low little chairs, which 
are only meant to kneel upon. His knees touched his 
chin. I went to his house after mass; his eyes were 
wild, and when his secretary spoke to him, he said, 
' Hold your tongue, pen. A pen's business is to write, 
and not to speak/ " Madame, who liked the Keeper 
of the Seals, was very much concerned, and begged 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 281 

the first physician not to mention what he had per- 
ceived. Four days after this, M. Berryer was seized 
with catalepsy, after having talked incoherently. This 
is a disease which I did not know even by name, and 
got it written down for me. The patient remains 
in precisely the same position in which the fit seizes 
him; one leg or arm elevated, the eyes wide open, 
or just as it may happen. This latter affair was 
known to all the Court at the death of the Keeper 
of the Seals. 

When the Marechal de Belle-Isle's son was killed 
in battle, Madame persuaded the King to pay his 
father a visit. He was rather reluctant, and Madame 
said to him, with an air half angry, half playful: 

-" Barbara ! dont I'orgueil 



Croit le sang d'un sujet trop paye d'un coup d'oeil." 

The King laughed, and said, '* Whose fine verses 

are those?" ''Voltaire's," said Madame . 

*' As barbarous as I am, I gave him the place of 
gentleman in ordinary, and a pension," said the King. 

The King went in state to call on the Marshal, 
followed by all the Court; and it certainly appeared 
that this solemn visit consoled the Marshal for the 
loss of his son, the sole heir to his name. 

When the Marshal died, he was carried to his 
house on a common hand-barrow, covered with a 
shabby cloth. I met the body. The bearers were 
laughing and singing. I thought it was some ser- 
vant, and asked who it was. How great was my 
surprise at learning that these were the remains of a 
man abounding in honours and in riches. Such is the 
Court ; the dead are always in fault, . and cannot be 
put out of sight too soon. 

The King said, " M. Fouquet is dead, I hear." 
" He was no longer Fouquet," replied the Due 



2^2 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

d'Ayen; " Your Majesty had permitted him to change 
that name, under which, however, he acquired all his 
reputation." The King shrugged his shoulders. His 
Majesty had, in fact, granted him letters patent, per- 
mitting him not to sign Fouquet during his Ministry. 
I heard this on the occasion in question. M. de 
Choiseul had the war department at his death. He 
was every day more and more in favour. Madame 
treated him with greater distinction than any previous 
Minister, and his manners towards her were the most 
agreeable it is possible to conceive, at once respectful 
and gallant. He never passed a day without seeing 
her. M. de Marigny could not endure M. de Choiseul, 
but he never spoke of him, except to his intimate 
friends. Calling, one day, at Quesnay's, I found him 
there. They were talking of M. de Choiseul. " He 
is a mere petit maitre/' said the Doctor, " and, if he 
were handsome just fit to be one of Henri the Third's 
favourites." The Marquis de Mirabeau and M. de 
La Riviere came in. *' This kingdom," said Mira- 
beau, " is in a deplorable state. There is neither na- 
tional energy, nor the only substitute for it — money." 
" It can only be regenerated," said La Riviere, *' by 
a conquest^ like that of China, or by some great 
internal convulsion; but woe to those who live to see 
that ! The French people do not do things by halves." 
These words made me tremble, and I hastened out 
of the room. M. de Marigny did the same, though 
without appearing at all affected by what had been 
said. " You heard De La Riviere," said he, — " but 
don't be alarmed, the conversations that pass at the 
Doctor's are never repeated; these are honourable 
men, though rather chimerical. They know not where 
to stop. I think, however, they are in the right way; 
only, unfortunately, they go too far." I wrote this 
down immediately. 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 283 

The Comte de St. Germain came to see Madame 
de Pompadour, who was ill, and lay on the sofa, He 
shewed her a little box, containing topazes, rubies, 
and emeralds. He appeared to have enough to 
furnish a treasury. Madame sent for me to see all 
these beautiful things. I looked at them with an air 
of the utmost astonishment, but I made signs to 
Madame that I thought them all false. The Count 
felt for something in his pocketbook, about twice as 
large as a spectacle-case, and, at length, drew out two 
or three little paper packets, which he unfolded, and 
exhibited a superb ruby. He threw on the table, with 
a contemptuous air, a little cross of green and white 
stones. I looked at it and said, " That is not to be 
despised." I put it on, and admired it greatly. The 
Count begged me to accept it. I refused — ^he urged 
me to take it. Madame then refused it for me. At 
length, he pressed it upon me so warmly that Madame, 
seeing that it could not be worth above forty louis, 
made me a sign to accept it. I took the cross, much 
pleased at the Count's politeness and, some days after, 
Madame presented him with an enamelled box, upon 
which was the portrait of some Grecian sage (whose 
name I don't recollect), to whom she compared him. 
I shewed the cross to a jeweller, who valued it at 
sixty-five louis. The Count offered to bring Madame 
some enamel portraits, by Petitot, to look at, and she 
told him to bring them after dinner, while the King 
was hunting. He shewed his portraits, after which 
Madame said to him, " I have heard a great deal of 
a charming story you told two days ago, at supper, 
at M. le Premier's, of an occurrence you witnessed 
fifty or sixty years ago." He smiled and said, " It is 
rather long." " So, much the better," said she, with 
an air of delight. Madame de Gontaut and the ladies 
came in, and the door was shut; Madame made a 



284 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

sign to me to sit down behind the screen. The Count 
made many apologies for the ennui which his story- 
would, perhaps, occasion. He said, " Sometimes one 
can tell a story pretty well; at other times it is quite 
a different thing." 

''At the beginning of this century, the Marquis de 
St. Gilles was Ambassador from Spain to the Hague. 
In his youth he had been particularly intimate with the 
Count of Moncade, a grandee of Spain, and one of 
the richest nobles of that country. Some months 
after the Marquis's arrival at the Hague, he received 
a letter from the Count, entreating him, in the name 
of their former friendship, to render him the greatest 
possible service. * You know,' said he, ' my dear Mar- 
quis, the mortification I felt that the name of Mon- 
cade was likely to expire with me. At length, it 
pleased heaven to hear my prayers, and to grant me 
a son: he gave early promise of dispositions worthy 
of his birth, but he, some time since, formed an unfor- 
tunate and disgraceful attachment to the most cele- 
brated actress of the company of Toledo. I shut my 
eyes to this imprudence on the part of a young man 
whose conduct had, till then, caused me unmingled 
satisfaction. But, having learnt that he was so 
blinded by passion as to intend to marry this girl, and 
that he had even bound himself by a written promise 
to that effect, I solicited the King to have her placed 
in confinement. My son, having got information of 
the steps I had taken, defeated my intentions by 
escaping with the object of his passion. For more 
than six months I have vainly endeavoured to dis- 
cover where he has concealed himself, but I have now 
some reason to think he is at the Hague.' The Count 
earnestly conjured the Marquis to make the most 
rigid search, in order to discover his son's retreat, and 
to endeavour to prevail upon him to return to his 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR ^85 

home. ' It is an act of justice/ continued he, ' to pro- 
vide for the girl, if she consents to give up the written 
promise of marriage which she has received, and I 
leave it to your discretion to do what is right for her, 
as well as to determine the sum necessary to bring 
my son to Madrid in a manner suitable to his con- 
dition. I know not,' concluded he, * whether you are 
a father; if you are, you will be able to sympathise 
in my anxieties.' The Count subjoined to this letter 
an exact description of his son, and the young woman 
by whom he was accompanied. On the receipt of this 
letter, the Marquis lost not a moment in sending to 
all the inns in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the 
Hague, but in vain — he could find no trace of them. 
He began to despair of success, when the idea struck 
him that a young French page of his, remarkable for 
his quickness and intelligence, might be employed with 
advantage. He promised to reward him handsomely 
if he succeeded in finding the young woman, who was 
the cause of so much anxiety, and gave him the 
description of her person. The page visited all the 
public places for many days, without success; at 
length, one evening, at the play, he saw a young man 
and woman, in a box, who attracted his attention. 
When he saw that they perceived he was looking at 
them, and withdrew to the back of the box to avoid 
his observation, he felt confident that they were the 
objects of his search. He did not take his eyes from 
the box, and watched every movement in it. The 
instant the performance ended, he was in the passage 
leading from the boxes to the door, and he remarked 
that the young man, who, doubtless, observed the 
dress he wore, tried to conceal himself, as he passed 
him, by putting his handkerchief before his face. He 
followed him, at a distance, to the inn called the 
Vicomte de Turemie, which he saw him an^^" the 



286 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

woman enter; and, being now certain of success, he 
ran to inform the Ambassador. The Marquis de St. 
Gilles immediately repaired to the inn, wrapped in a 
cloak, and followed by his page and two servants- 
He desired the landlord to show him to the room of 
a young man and woman, who had lodged for some 
time in his house. The landlord, for some time, 
refused to do so, unless the Marquis would give their 
name. The page told him to take notice that he was 
speaking to the Spanish Ambassador, who had strong 
reasons for wishing to see the persons in question. 
The innkeeper said they wished not to be known, and 
that they had absolutely forbidden him to admit any- 
body into their apartment who did not ask for them 
by name; but that, since the Ambassador desired it, 
he would show him their room. He then conducted 
them up to a dirty, miserable garret. He knocked at 
the door, and waited for some time; he then knocked 
again pretty loudly, upon which the door was half- 
opened. At the sight of the Ambassador and his 
suite, the person who opened it immediately closed it 
again, exclaiming that they had made a mistake. The 
Ambassador pushed hard against him, forced his way 
in, made a sign to his people to wait outside, and 
remained in the room. He saw before him a very 
handsome young man, whose appearance perfectly 
corresponded with the description, and a young 
woman, of great beauty, and remarkably fine person, 
whose countenance, form, colour of the hair, etc., 
were also precisely those described by the Count of 
Moncade. The young man spoke first. He com- 
plained of the violence used in breaking into the 
apartment of a stranger, living in a free country, and 
under the protection of its laws. The Ambassador 
stepped forward to embrace him, and said, * It is use- 
less to feign, my dear Count; I know you, and I do 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 287 

not come here to give pain to you or to this lady, 
whose appearance interests me extremely/ The young 
man replied that he was totally mistaken ; that he was 
not a Count, but the son of a merchant of Cadiz ; that 
the lady was his wife; and, that they were travelling 
for pleasure. The Ambassador, casting his eyes round 
the miserably furnished room, which contained but 
one bed, and some packages of the shabbiest kind, 
lying in disorder about the room, ' Is this, my dear 
child (allow me to address you by a title which is 
warranted by my tender regard for your father), is 
this a fit residence for the son of the Count of Mon- 
cade ? ' The young man still protested against the 
use of any such language, as addressed to him. At 
length, overcome by the entreaties of the Ambassador, 
he confessed, weeping, that he was the son of the 
Count of Moncade, but declared that nothing should 
induce him to return to his father, if he must abandon 
a woman he adored. The young woman burst into 
tears; and threw herself at the feet of the Ambas- 
sador, telling him that she would not be the cause of 
the ruin of the young Count; and that generosity, or 
rather, love, would enable her to disregard her own 
happiness, and, for his sake, to separate herself from 
him. The Ambassador admired her noble dis- 
interestedness. The young man, on the contrary, 
received her declaration with the most desperate grief. 
He reproached his mistress, and declared that he 
would never abandon so estimable a creature, nor 
suffer the sublime generosity of her heart to be turned 
against herself. The Ambassador told him that the 
Count of Moncade was far from wishing to render 
her miserable, and that he was commissioned to pro- 
vide her with a sum sufficient to enable her to return 
into Spain, or to live where she liked. Her noble 
sentiments, and genuine tenderness, he said, inspired 



288 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

him with the greatest interest for her, and would 
induce him to go to the utmost Hmits of his powers, 
in the sum he was to give her; that he, therefore, 
promised her ten thousand florins, that is to say, about 
twelve hundred louis, which would be given her the 
moment she surrendered the promise of marriage she 
had received, and the Count of Moncade took up his 
abode in the Ambassador's house, and promised to 
return to Spain. The young woman seemed perfectly 
indifferent to the sum proposed, and wholly absorbed 
in her lover, and in the grief of leaving him. She 
seemed insensible to everything but the cruel sacrifice 
which her reason, and her love itself, demanded. At 
length, drawing from a little portfolio the promise of 
marriage, signed by the Count, * I know his heart 
too well,' said she, ' to need it.' Then she kissed it 
again and again, with a sort of transport, and deliv- 
ered it to the Ambassador, who stood by, astonished 
at the grandeur of soul he witnessed. He promised 
her that he would never cease to take the liveliest 
interest in her fate, and assured the Count of his 
father's forgiveness. * He will receive with open 
arms,' said he, ' the prodigal son, returning to the 
bosom of his distressed family; the heart of a father 
is an exhaustless mine of tenderness. How great will 
be the felicity of my friend on the receipt of these 
tidings, after his long anxiety and affliction; how 
happy do I esteem myself, at being the instrument of 
that felicity ! ' Such was, in part, the language of the 
Ambassador, which appeared to produce a strong 
impression on the young man. But, fearing lest, dur- 
ing the night, love should regain all his power, 
and should triumph over the generous resolution of 
the lady, the Marquis pressed the young Count to 
accompany him to his hotel. The tears, the cries of 
anguish, which marked this cruel separation, cannot 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 289 

be described; they deeply touched the heart of the 
Ambassador, who promised to watch over the young 
lady. The Count's Httle baggage was not difficult to 
remove, and, that very evening, he was installed in 
the finest apartment of the Ambassador's house. The 
Marquis was overjoyed at having restored to the illus- 
trious house of Moncade the heir of its greatness, and 
of its magnificent domains. On the following morn- 
ing, as soon as the young Count was up, he found 
tailors, dealers in cloth, lace, stuffs, etc., out of which 
he had only to choose. Two valets de chamhre, and 
three laquais, chosen by the Ambassador for their 
intelligence and good conduct, were in waiting in his 
antechamber, and presented themselves, to receive his 
orders. The Ambassador shewed the young Count 
the letter he had just written to his father, in which 
he congratulated him on possessing a son whose noble 
sentiments and striking qualities were worthy of his 
illustrious blood, and announced his speedy return. 
The young lady was not forgotten; he confessed that 
to her generosity he was partly indebted for the sub- 
mission of her lover, and expressed his conviction that 
the Count would not disapprove the gift he had made 
her, of ten thousand florins. That sum was remitted, 
on the same day, to this noble and interesting girl, 
who left the Hague without delay. The preparations 
for the Count's journey were made; a splendid ward- 
robe and an excellent carriage were embarked at 
Rotterdam, in a ship bound for France, on board 
which a passage was secured for the Count, who was 
to proceed from that country to Spain. A consider- 
able sum of money, and letters of credit on Paris, 
were given him at his departure; and the parting 
between the Ambassador and the young Count was 
most touching. The Marquis de St. Gilles awaited 
with impatience the Count's answer, and enjoyed his 



290 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

friend's delight by anticipation. At the expiration 
of four months, he received this long-expected letter. 
It would be utterly impossible to describe his surprise 
on reading the following words, * Heaven, my dear 
Marquis, never granted me the happiness of becoming 
a father, and, in the midst of abundant wealth and 
honours, the grief of having no heirs, and seeing an 
illustrious race end in my person, has shed the greatest 
bitterness over my whole existence. I see, with ex- 
treme regret, that you have been imposed upon by a 
young adventurer, who has taken advantage of the 
knowledge he had, by some means, obtained, of our 
old friendship. But your Excellency must not be the 
sufferer. The Count of Moncade is, most assuredly, 
the person whom you wished to serve ; he is bound to 
repay what your generous friendship hastened to ad- 
vance, in order to procure him a happiness which he 
would have felt most deeply. I hope, therefore. Mar- 
quis, that your Excellency will have no hesitation in 
accepting the remittance contained in this letter, of 
three thousand louis of France, of the disbursal of 
which you sent me an account.' " 

The manner in which the Comte de St. Germain 
spoke, in the characters of the young adventurer, his 
mistress, and the Ambassador, made his audience 
weep and laugh by turns. The story is true in every 
particular, and the adventurer surpasses Gusman 
d'Alfarache in address, according to the report of 
some persons present. Madame de Pompadour 
thought of having a play written, founded on this 
story; and the Count sent it to her in writing, from 
which I transcribed it. 

M. Duclos came to the Doctor's, and harangued 
with his usual warmth. I heard him saying to two 
or three persons, " People are unjust to great men. 
Ministers and Princes; nothing, for instance, is more 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 291 

common than to undervalue their intellect. I aston- 
ished one of these little gentlemen of the corps of the 
infallihles, by telling him that I could prove that 
there had been more men of ability in the house of 
Bourbon, for the last hundred years, than in any 
other family." "You prove that?" said somebody, 
sneeringly. " Yes," said Duclos; '' and I will tell you 
how. The great Conde, you will allow, was no fool; 
and the Duchesse de Longueville is cited as one of the 
wittiest women that ever lived. The Regent was a 
man who had few equals, in every kind of talent and 
acquirement. The Prince de Conti, who was elected 
King of Poland, was celebrated for his intelligence, 
and, in poetry, was the successful rival of La Fare 
and St. Aulaire. The Duke of Burgundy was learned 
and enlightened. His Duchess, the daughter of Louis 
XIV., was remarkably clever, and wrote epigrams 
and couplets. The Due du Maine is generally spoken 
of only for his weakness, but nobody had a more 
agreeable wit. His wife was mad, but she had an ex- 
tensive acquaintance with letters, good taste in poetry, 
and a brilliant and inexhaustible imagination. Here 
are instances enough, I think," said he ; " and, as I 
am no flatterer, and hate to appear one, I will not 
speak of the living." His hearers were astonished at » 
this enumeration, and all of them agreed in the truth 
of what he had said. He added, "Don't we daily 
hear of silly D'Argenson, because he has a good- 
natured air, and a bourgeois tone? and yet, I believe, 
there have not been many Ministers comparable to 
him in knowledge and in enlightened views." I took 
a pen, which lay on the Doctor's table, and begged 
M. Duclos to repeat to me all the names he had 
mentioned, and the eulogium he had bestowed on 
each. " If," said he, " you show that to the Marquise, 
tell her how the conversation arose, and that I did 

Memoirs— 10 Vol. 1 



292 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

not say it in order that it might come to her ears, 
and eventually, perhaps, to those of another person. 
I am an historiographer, and I will render justice, but 
I shall, also, often inflict it." " I will answer for 
that," said the Doctor, " and our master will be rep- 
resented as he really is. Louis XIV. liked verses, and 
patronised poets; that was very well, perhaps, in his 
time, because one must begin with something; but 
this age will be very superior to the last. It must 
be acknowledged that Louis XV., in sending astrono- 
mers to Mexico and Peru, to measure the earth, has a 
higher claim to our respect than if he directed an 
opera. He has thrown down the barriers which 
opposed the progress of philosophy, in spite of the 
clamour of the devotees: the Encyclopaedia will do 
honour to his reign." Duclos, during this speech, 
shook his head. I went away, and tried to write 
down all I had heard, while it was fresh. I had the 
part which related to the Princes of the Bourbon race 
copied by a valet, who wrote a beautiful hand, and 
I gave it to Madame de Pompadour. But she said 
to me, "What! is Duclos an acquaintance of yours? 
Do you want to play the bel esprit, my dear good 
woman? That will not sit well upon you." The 
truth is, that nothing can be further from my 
inclination. I told her that I met him accidentally 
at the Doctor's, where he generally spent an hour 
when he came to Versailles. " The King knows him 
to be a worthy man," said she. 

Madame de Pompadour was ill, and the King came 
to see her several times a day. I generally left the 
room when he entered, but, having stayed a few 
minutes, on one occasion, to give her a glass of chic- 
ory water, I heard the King mention Madame d'Eg- 
mont. Madame raised her eyes to heaven, and said, 
" That name always recalls to me a most melancholy 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 293 

and barbarous affair; but it was not my fault." 
These words dwelt in my mind, and, particularly, 
the tone in which they were uttered. As I stayed 
with Madame till three o'clock in the morning, read- 
ing to her a part of the time, it was easy for me 
to try to satisfy my curiosity. I seized a moment, 
when the reading was interrupted, to say, '' You 
looked dreadfully shocked, Madame, when the King 
pronounced the name of D'Egmont." At these 
words, she again raised her eyes, and said, '' You 
would feel as I do, if you knew the affair." " It 
must, then, be deeply affecting, for I do not think 
that it personally concerns you, Madame." " No," 
said she, " it does not ; as, however, I am not the 
only person acquainted with this history, and as I 
know you to be discreet, I will tell it you. The last 
Comte d'Egmont married a reputed daughter of the 
Due de Villars; but the Duchess had never lived with 
her husband, and the Comtesse d'Egmont is, in fact, 
a daughter of the Chevalier d'Orleans. At the death 
of her husband, young, beautiful, agreeable, and 
heiress to an immense fortune, she attracted the suit 
and homage of all the most distinguished men at 
Court. Her mother's director, one day, came into 
her room and requested a private interview; he then 
revealed to her that she was the offspring of an 
adulterous intercourse, for which her mother had been 
doing penance for five-and-twenty years. * She could 
not,' said he, * oppose your former marriage, although 
it caused her extreme distress. Heaven did not grant 
you children; but, if you marry again, you run the 
risk, Madame, of transmitting to another family the 
immense wealth, which does not, in fact, belong to 
you, and which is the price of crime.' 

" The Comtesse d'Egmont heard this recital with 
horror. At the same instant, her mother entered, 



294 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

and, on her knees, besought her daughter to avert 
her eternal damnation. Madame d'Egmont tried to 
calm her own and her mother's mind. ' What can I 
do ? ' said she, to her. ' Consecrate yourself wholly 
to God,' replied the director, ' and thus expiate your 
mother's crime.' The Countess, in her terror, prom- 
ised whatever they asked, and proposed to enter the 
Carmelites. I was informed of it, and spoke to the 
King about the barbarous tyranny the Duchesse de 
Villars and the director were about to exercise over 
this unhappy young woman; but we knew not how 
to prevent it. The King, with the utmost kindness, 
prevailed on the Queen to offer her the situation of 
Lady of the Palace, and desired the Duchess's friends 
to persuade her to endeavour to deter her daughter 
from becoming a Carmelite. It was all in vain; the 
wretched victim was sacrificed." 

Madame took it into her head to consult a fortune- 
teller, called Madame Bontemps, who had told M. de 
Bernis's fortune, as I have already related, and had 
surprised him by her predictions. M. de Choiseul, 
to whom she mentioned the matter, said that the 
woman had also foretold fine things that were to hap- 
pen to him. " I know it," said she, " and, in return, 
you promised her a carriage, but the poor woman goes 
on foot still." Madame told me this, and asked me 
how she could disguise herself, so as to see the woman 
without being known. I dared not propose any 
scheme then, for fear it should not succeed; but, two 
days after, I talked to her surgeon about the art, 
which some beggars practise, of counterfeiting sores, 
and altering their features. He said that was easy 
enough. I let the thing drop, '^nd, after an interval 
of some minutes, I said, " If one could change one's 
features, one might have great diversion at the opera, 
or at balls. What alterations would it be necessary 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 295 

to make in me, now, to render it impossible to recog- 
nise me?" "In the first place," said he, ''you must 
alter the colour of your hair, then you must have a 
false nose, and put a spot on some part of your face, 
or a wart, or a few hairs." I laughed, and said, 
*' Help me to contrive this for the next ball ; I have 
not been to one for twenty years; but I am dying to 
puzzle somebody, and to tell him things which no one 
but I can tell him. I shall come home, and go to bed, 
in a quarter of an hour." " I must take the measure 
of your nose," said he; " or do you take it with wax, 
and I will have a nose made: you can get a flaxen 
or brown wig." I repeated to Madame what the 
surgeon had told me : she was delighted at it. I took 
the measure of her nose, and of my own, and carried 
them to the surgeon, who, in two days, gave me the 
two noses, and a wart, which Madame stuck under 
her left eye, and some paint for the eyebrows. The 
noses were most delicately made, of a bladder, I think, 
and these, with the other disguises, rendered it impos- 
sible to recognize the face, and yet did not pro- 
duce any shocking appearance. All this being ac- 
complished, nothing remained but to give notice to the 
fortune-teller; we waited for a little excursion to 
Paris, which Madame was to take, to look at her 
house. I then got a person, with whom I had no con- 
nection, to speak to a waiting-woman of the Duchesse 
de Ruffec, to obtain an interview with the woman. 
She made some difficulty, on account of the Police ; but 
we promised secrecy, and appointed the place of meet- 
ing. Nothing could be more contrary to Madame de 
Pompadour's character, which was one of extreme 
timidity, than to engage in such an adventure. But 
her curiosity was raised to the highest pitch, and, 
moreover, everything was so well arranged that there 
was not the slightest risk. Madame had let M. de 



296 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

Gontaut, and her valet de chambre, into the secret. 
The latter had hired two rooms for his niece, who 
was then ill, at Versailles, near Madame's hotel. We 
went out in the evening, followed by the valet de 
chambre, who was a safe man, and by the Duke, all 
on foot. We had not, at farthest, above two hundred 
steps to go. We were shown into two small rooms, 
in which were fires. The two men remained in one, 
and we in the other. Madame had thrown herself on 
a sofa. She had on a night-cap, which concealed 
half her face, in an unstudied manner. I was near 
the fire, leaning on a table, on which were two can- 
dles. There were lying on the chairs, near us, some 
clothes, of small value. The fortune-teller rang — a 
little servant-girl let her in, and then went to wait in 
the room where the gentlemen were. Coffee-cups, 
and a coffee-pot, were set; and I had taken care to 
place, upon a little buffet, some cakes, and a bottle 
of Malaga wine, having heard that Madame Bontemps 
assisted her inspiration with that liquor. Her face, 
indeed, sufficiently proclaimed it. " Is that lady ill? '* 
said she, seeing Madame de Pompadour stretched 
languidly on the sofa. I told her that she would 
soon be better, but that she had kept her room for a 
week. She heated the coffee, and prepared the two 
cups, which she carefully wiped, observing that noth- 
ing impure must enter into this operation. I affected 
to be very anxious for a glass of wine, in order to 
give our oracle a pretext for assuaging her thirst, 
which she did, without much entreaty. When she had 
drunk two or three small glasses (for I had taken 
care not to have large ones), she poured the coffee 
into one of the two large cups. " This is yours," said 
she ; " and this is your friend's ; let them stand a 
little." She then observed our hands and our faces; 
after which she drew a looking-glass from her pocket, 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR S97 

into which she told us to look, while she looked at 
the reflections of our faces. She next took a glass of 
wine, and immediately threw herself into a fit of en- 
thusiasm, while she inspected my cup, and consid- 
ered all the lines formed by the dregs of the coffee 
she had poured out. She began by saying, '' That is 
well — prosperity — but there is a black mark — dis- 
tresses. A man becomes a comforter. Here, in this 
corner J are friends, who support you. Ah! who is he 
that persecutes them? But justice triumphs — after 
rain, sunshine — a long journey successfid. There, do 
you see these little bags? That is money which has 
been paid — to you, of course, I mean. That is well. 
Do you see that armf '^ Yes." "That is an arm 
supporting something: a woman veiled; I see her; it 
is you. All this is clear to me. I hear, as it were, a 
voice speaking to me. You are no longer attacked. I 
see it, because the clouds in that direction are passed 
off (pointing to a clearer spot). But, stay — I see 
small lines which branch out from the main spot. 
These are sons, daughters, nephews — that is pretty 
well.'' She appeared overpowered with the effort she 
was making. At length, she added, " That is all. 
You have had good luck first — misfortune afterward. 
You have had a friend, who has exerted himself with 
success to extricate you from it. You have had law- 
suits — at length fortune has been reconciled to you, 
and will change no more.'' She drank another glass 
of wine. " Your health, Madame," said she to the 
Marquise, and went through the same ceremonies 
with the cup. At length, she broke out, "Neither 
fair nor foul. I see there, in the distance, a serene 
sky ; and then all these things that appear to ascend — 
all these things are applauses. Here is a grave man, 
who sir etches out his arms. Do you see? — look at- 
tentively." " That is true" said Madame de Pom- 



298 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

padour, with surprise (there was, indeed, some ap- 
pearance of the kind). ''He points to something 
square — th^irt is an open coffer. — Fine weather.- — But, 
look! there are clouds of azure and gold, which sur- 
round you. Do you see that ship on the high sea? 
How favourable the wind is! You are on hoard; you 
land in a beautiful country, of which you become the 
Queen. Ah! what do I see? Look there — look at 
that hideous, crooked, lame man, who is pursuing you 
— but he is going on a fooVs errand. I see a very 
great man, who supports you in his arms. Here, look! 
he is a kind of giant. There is a great deal of gold 
and silver — a few clouds here and there. But you 
have nothing to fear. The vessel will be sometimes 
tossed about, but it will not be lost. Dixi." Madame 
said, " When shall I die, and of what disease? " " I 
never speak of that," said she; ''see here, rather — 
but fate will not permit it. I will shew you how 
fate confounds everything'' — shewing her several 
confused lumps of the coffee-dregs. " Well, never 
mind as to the time, then, only tell me the kind of 
death." The fortune-teller looked in the cup, and 
said, " You zvill have time to prepare yourself.'' I 
gave her only two louis, to avoid doing anything re- 
markable. She left us, after begging us to keep her 
secret, and we rejoined the Due de Gontaut, to whom 
we related everything that had passed. He laughed 
heartily, and said, " Her coffee-dregs are like the 
clouds — you may see what you please in them." 

There was one thing in my horoscope which struck 
me, that was the comforter; because one of my uncles 
had taken great care of me, and had rendered me 
the most essential services. It is also true that I 
afterwards had an important lawsuit; and, lastly, there 
was the money which had come into my hands through 
Madame de Pompadour's patronage and bounty. As 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 299 

for Madame, her husband was represented accurately 
enough by the man with the coffer; then the country 
of which she became Queen seemed to relate to her 
present situation at Court; but the most remarkable 
thing was the crooked and lame man, in whom Ma- 
dame thought she recognized the Due de V , who 

was very much deformed. Madame was delighted 
with her adventure and her horoscope, which she 
thought corresponded very remarkably with the truth. 
Two days after, she sent for M. de St. Florentin, 
and begged him not to molest the fortune-teller. He 
laughed, and replied that he knew why she interceded 
for this woman. Madame asked him why he laughed. 
He related every circumstance of her expedition with 
astonishing exactness; but he knew nothing of what 
had been said, or, at least, so he pretended. He prom- 
ised Madame that, provided Bontemps did nothing 
which called for notice, she should not be obstructed 
in the exercise of her profession, especially if she fol- 
lowed it in secret. '' I know her," added he, " and I, 
like other people, have had the curiosity to consult 
her. She is the wife of a soldier in the guards. She 
is a clever woman in her way, but she drinks. Four 
or five years ago, she got such hold on the mind of 
Madame de Ruffec, that she made her believe she 
could procure her an elixir of beauty, which would 
restore her to what she was at twenty-five. The 
Duchess pays high for the drugs of which this elixir is 
compounded ; and sometimes they are bad : sometimes, 
the sun, to which they were exposed, was not power- 
ful enough; sometimes, the influence of a certain con- 
stellation was wanting. Sometimes, she has the cour- 
age to assure the Duchess that she really is grown 
handsomer, and actually succeeds in making her be- 
lieve it." But the history of this woman's daughter 
is still more curious. She was exquisitely beautiful, 



300 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

and the Duchess brought her up in her own house. 
Bontemps predicted to the girl, in the Duchess's pres- 
ence, that she would marry a man of two thousand 
louis a year. This was not very likely to happen to 
the daughter of a soldier in the guards. It did hap- 
pen, nevertheless. The little Bontemps married the 
President Beaudouin, who was mad. But, the tragical 
part of the story is, that her mother had also foretold 
that she would die in child-birth of her first child, and 
that she did actually die in child-birth, at the age of 
eighteen, doubtless under a strong impression of her 
mother's prophecy, to which the improbable event of 
her marriage had given such extraordinary weight. 
Madame told the King of the adventure her curiosity 
had led her into, at which he laughed, and said he 
wished the Police had arrested her. He added a 
very sensible remark. " In order to judge," said he, 
" of the truth or falsehood of such predictions, one 
ought to collect fifty of them. It would be found that 
they are almost always made up of the same phrases, 
which are sometimes inapplicable, and sometimes hit 
the mark. But the first are rarely mentioned, while 
the others are always insisted on." 

I have heard, and, indeed, it is certainly true, that 
M. de Bridge lived on terms of intimacy with Madame, 
when she was Madame d'Etioles. He used to ride on 
horseback with her, and, as he is so handsome a man 
that he has retained the name of the handsome man, 
it was natural enough that he should be thought 
the lover of a very handsome woman. I have heard 
something more than this. I was told that the King 
said to M. de Bridge, " Confess, now, that you were 
her lover. She has acknowledged it to me, and I 
exact from you this proof of sincerity." M. de 
Bridge replied, that Madame de Pompadour was at 
liberty to say what she pleased for her own amuse- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 301 

ment, or for any other reason; but that he, for his 
part, could not assert a falsehood; that he had been 
her friend; that she was a charming companion, and 
had great talents; that he delighted in her society; 
but that his intercourse with her had never gone be- 
yond the bounds of friendship. He added, that her 
husband was present in all their parties, that he 
watched her with a jealous eye, and that he would 
not have suffered him to be so much with her if he 
had conceived the least suspicion of the kind. The 
King persisted, and told him he was wrong to 
endeavour to conceal a fact which was unquestionable. 
It was rumoured, also, that the Abbe de Bernis had 
been a favoured lover of hers. The said Abbe was 
rather a coxcomb ; he had a handsome face, and wrote 
poetry. Madame de Pompadour was the theme of 
his gallant verses. He sometimes received the com- 
pliments of his friends upon his success with a smile 
which left some room for conjecture, although he 
denied the thing in words. It was, for some time, 
reported at Court that she was in love with the Prince 
de Beauvau : he is a man distinguished for his gal- 
lantries, his air of rank and fashion, and his high 
play; he is brother to the little Marechale: for all 
these reasons, Madame is very civil to him, but there 
is nothing marked in her behaviour. She knows, be- 
sides, that he is in love with a very agreeable woman. 
Now that I am on the subject of lovers, I cannot 
avoid speaking of M. de Choiseul. Madame likes him 
better than any of those I have just mentioned, but he 
is not her lover. A lady, whom I know perfectly 
well, but whom I do not choose to denounce to Ma- 
dame, invented a story about them, which was ut- 
terly false. She said, as I have good reason to be- 
lieve, that one day, hearing the King coming, I ran 
to Madame's closet door; that I coughed in a partic- 



302 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

ular manner; and that the King having, happily, 
stopped a moment to talk to some ladies, there was 
time to adjust matters, so that Madame came out of 
the closet with me and M. de Choiseul, as if we had 
been all three sitting together. It is very true that I 
went in to carry something to Madame, without know- 
ing that the King was come, and that she came out 
of the closet with M. de Choiseul, who had a paper 
in his hand, and that I followed her a few minutes 
after. The King asked M. de Choiseul what that 
paper was which he had in his hand. He replied that 
it contained the remonstrance from the Parliament. 
Three or four ladies witnessed what I now relate, 
and as, with the exception of one, they were all excel- 
lent women, and greatly attached to Madame, my sus- 
picions could fall on none but the one in question, 
whom I will not name, because her brother has al- 
ways treated me with great kindness. Madame de 
Pompadour had a lively imagination and great sensi- 
bility, but nothing could exceed the coldness of her 
temperament. It would, besides, have been extremely 
difficult for her, surrounded as she was, to keep up 
an intercourse of that kind with any man. It is true 
that this difficulty would have been diminished in the 
case of an all-powerful Minister, who had constant 
pretexts for seeing her in private. But there was a 
much more decisive fact — M. de Choiseul had a 
charming mistress — the Princesse de R , and Ma- 
dame knew it, and often spoke of her. He had, be- 
sides, some remains of liking for the Princesse de 
Kinski, who followed him from Vienna. It is true 
that he soon after discovered how ridiculous she was. 
All these circumstances combined were, surely, 
sufficient to deter Madame from engaging in a love 
affair with the Duke; but his talents and agreeable 
qualities captivated her. He was not handsome, but 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 303 

he had manners pecuHar to himself, an agreeable 
vivacity, a delightful gaiety; this was the general 
opinion of his character. He was much attached to 
Madame, and though this might, at first, be inspired 
by a consciousness of the importance of her friend- 
ship to his interest, yet, after he had acquired suf- 
ficient political strength to stand alone, he was not 
the less devoted to her, nor less assiduous in his at- 
tentions. He knew her friendship for me, and he one 
day said to me, with great feeling, " I am afraid, my 
dear Madame du Hausset, that she will sink into a 
state of complete dejection, and die of melancholy. 
Try to divert her." What a fate for the favourite 
of the greatest monarch in existence! thought I. 

One day, Madame de Pompadour had retired to 
her closet with M. Berryer. Madame d'Amblimont 
stayed with Madame de Gontaut, who called me to 
talk about my son. A moment after, M. de Gontaut 
came in and said, '' D'Amblimont, who shall have the 
Swiss guards ? " '' Stop a moment," said she ; '' let 

me call my council , M. de Choiseul." " That is 

not so very bad a thought," said M. de Gontaut, " but 
I assure you, you are the first person who has sug- 
gested it." He immediately left us, and Madame 
d'Amblimont said, '' I'll lay a wager he is going to 
communicate my idea to M. de Choiseul." He re- 
turned very shortly, and, M. Berryer having left the 
room, he said to Madame de Pompadour, " A singular 
thought has entered d'Amblimont's head." " What 
absurdity now ? " said Madame. " Not so great an 
absurdity neither," said he. " She says the Swiss 
guards ought to be given to M. de Choiseul, and, 
really, if the King has not positively promised M. de 
Soubise, I don't see what he can do better." " Th^ 
King has promised nothing," said Madame, " and the 
hopes I gave him were of the vaguest kind. I only 



304 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

told him it was possible. But though I have a great 
regard for M. de Soubise, I do not think his merits 
comparable to those of M. de Choiseul." When the 
King came in, Madame, doubtless, told him of this 
suggestion. A quarter of an hour afterwards, I went 
into the room to speak to her, and I heard the King 
say, '' You will see that, because the Due du Maine, 
and his children, had that place, he will think he 
ought to have it, on account of his rank as Prince 
(Soubise) ; but the Marechal de Bassompierre was 
not a Prince; and, by the bye, the Due de Choiseul is 
for him to be. Her name was Romans. She was 
Majesty is brtter acquainted with the history of France 
than anybody," replied Madame. Two days after 

this, Madame de said to me, *' I have two great 

delights ; M. de Soubise will not have the Swiss guards, 
and Madame de Marsan will be ready to burst with 
rage at it ; this is the first : and M. de Choiseul will have 
them; this is the greatest." 

There was a universal talk of a young lady with 
whom the King was as much in love as it was possible 
for him to be. Her name was Romans. She was 
said to be a charming girl. Madame de Pompadour 
knew of the King's visits, and her confidantes brought 
her most alarming reports of the affair. The Mare- 
chale de Mirepoix, who had the best head in Madame's 
council, was the only one who encouraged her. *' I 
do not tell you," said she, " that he loves you better 
than her; and if she could be transported hither by 
the stroke of a fairy's wand; if she could entertain him 
this evening at supper; if she were familiar with all his 
tastes, there would, perhaps, be sufficient reason for 
you to tremble for your power. But Princes are, 
above all, pre-eminently the slaves of habit. The 
King's attachment to you is like that he bears to your 
apartment, your furniture. You have formed your- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 3051 

self to his manners and habits; you know how to listen 
and reply to his stories; he is under no constraint 
with you; he has no fear of boring you. How do you 
think he could have resolution to uproot all this in a 
day, to form a new establishment, and to make a pub- 
lic exhibition of himself by so striking a change in 
his arrangements ? " The young lady became preg- 
nant; the reports current among the people, and even 
those at Court, alarmed Madame dreadfully. It was 
said that the King meant to legitimate the child, and to 
give the mother a title. " All that," said Madame de 
Mirepoix, " is in the style of Louis XIV. — such dig- 
nified proceedings are very unlike those of our mas- 
ter." Mademoiselle Romans lost all her influence over 
the King by her indiscreet boasting. She was even 
treated with harshness and violence, which were in no 
degree instigated by Madame. Her house was 
searched, and her papers seized; but the most im- 
portant, those which substantiated the fact of the 
King's paternity, had been withdrawn. At length she 
gave birth to a son, who was christened under the 
name of Bourbon, son of Charles de Bourbon, Cap- 
tain of Horse. The mother thought the eyes of all 
France were fixed upon her, and beheld in her son a 
future Due du Maine. She suckled him herself, and 
she used to carry him in a sort of basket to the Bois de 
Boulogne. Both mother and child were covered with 
the finest laces. She sat down upon the grass in a 
solitary spot, which, however, was soon well known, 
and there gave suck to her royal babe. Madame had 
great curiosity to see her, and took me, one day, to the 
manufactory at Sevres, without telling me what she 
projected. After she had bought some cups, she said, 
" I want to go and walk in the Bois de Boulogne," 
and gave orders to the coachman to stop at a certain 
spot where she wished to alight. She had got the 



3o6 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

mosi accurate directions, and when she drew near the 
young lady's haunt she gave me her arm, drew her 
bonnet over her eyes, and held her pocket-handkerchief 
before the lower part of her face. We walked, for 
some minutes, in a path, from whence we could see 
the lady suckling her child. Her jet black hair was 
turned up, and confined by a diamond comb. She 
looked earnestly at us. Madame bowed to her, and 
whispered to me, pushing me by the elbow, " Speak 
to her." I stepped forward, and exclaimed, " What 
a lovely child ! " " Yes, Madame," replied she, " I 
must confess that he is, though I am his mother." 
Madame, who had hold of my arm, trembled, and I 
was not very firm. Mademoiselle Romans said to me, 
*' Do you live in this neighbourhood ? " " Yes, Ma- 
dame," replied I, " I live at Auteuil with this iady, 
who is just now suffering from a most dreadful tooth- 
ache." " I pity her sincerely, for I know that tor- 
menting pain well." I looked all around, for fear any 
one should come up who might recognise us. I took 
courage to ask her whether the child's father was a 
handsome man. " Very handsome, and, if I told you 
his name, you would agree with me." " I have the 
honour of knowing him, then, Madame?" "Most 
probably you do." Madame, fearing, as I did, some 
rencontre, said a few words in a low tone, apologizing 
for having intruded upon her, and we took our leave. 
We looked behind us, repeatedly, to see if we were 
followed, and got into the carriage without being per- 
ceived. *' It must be confessed that both mother and 
child are beautiful creatures," said Madame — " not to 
mention the father; the infant has his eyes. If the 
King had come up while we were there, do you think 
he would have recognised us?" " I don't doubt that 
he would, Madame, and then what an agitation I 
should have been in, and what a scene it would have 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 307 

been for the bystanders! and, above all, what a sur- 
prise to her ! " In the evening Madame made the 
King a present of the cups she had bought, but she 
did not mention her walk, for fear Mademoiselle Ro- 
mans should tell him that two ladies, who knew him, 
had met her there such a day. Madame de Mirepoix 
said to Madame, " Be assured, the King cares very 
little about children; he has enough of them, and he 
will not be troubled with the mother or the son. See 

what sort of notice he takes of the Comte de L , 

who is strikingly like him. He never speaks of him, 
and I am convinced that he will never do anything 
for him. Again and again I tell you, we do not live 
under Louis XIV." Madame de Mirepoix had been 
Ambassadress to London, and had often heard the 
English make this remark. 

Some alterations had been made in Madame de 
Pompadour's rooms, and I had no longer, as hereto- 
fore, the niche in which I had been permitted to sit, 
to hear Caffarelli, and, in later times. Mademoiselle 
Fel and Jeliotte. I, therefore, went more frequently 
to my lodgings in town, where I usually received my 
friends : more particularly when Madame visited her 
little hermitage, whither M. de Gontaut commonly ac- 
companied her. Madame du Chiron, the wife of the 
Head Clerk in the War-Office, came to see me. " I 
feel," said she, '' greatly embarrassed, in speaking to 
you about an affair, which will, perhaps, embarrass 
you also. This is the state of the case. A very poor 
woman, to whom I have sometimes given a little as- 
sistance, pretends to be a relation of the Marquise de 
Pompadour. Here is her petition." I read it, and 
said that the woman had better write directly to Ma- 
dame, and that I was sure, if what she asserted was 
true, her application would be successful. Madame 
du Chiron followed my advice. The woman wrote she 



3o8 MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

was in the lowest depth of poverty, and I learnt that 
Madame sent her six louis until she could gain more 
accurate information as to the truth of her story., 
CoHn, who was commissioned to take the money, made 
inquiries of M. de Malvoisin, a relation of Madame, 
and a very respectable officer. The fact was found 
to be as she had stated it. Madame then sent her 
a hundred louis, and promised her a pension of sixty 
louis a year. All this was done with great expedition, 
and Madame had a visit of thanks from her poor re- 
lation, as soon as she had procured decent clothes to 
come in. That day the King happened to come in 
at an unusual hour, and saw this person going out. 
He asked who it was. " It is a very poor relation of 
mine," replied Madame. '' She came, then, to beg 
for some assistance?" "No," said she. "What 
did she come for, then?" "To thank me for a' 
little service I have rendered her," said she, blushing 
from the fear of seeming to boast of her liberality^ 
" Well," said the King ; " since she is your relation, 
allow me to have the pleasure of serving her too. I 
will give her fifty louis a year out of my private purse, 
and, you know, she may send for the first year's al- 
lowance to-morrow." Madame burst into tears, and 
kissed the King's hand several times. She told me 
this three days afterwards, when I was nursing her in 
a slight attack of fever. I could not refrain from 
weeping myself at this instance of the King's kind- 
ness. The next day, I called on Madame du Chiron 
to tell her of the good fortune of her protegee; I 
forgot to say that, after Madame had related the af- 
fair to me, I told her what part I had taken in it. She 
approved my conduct, and allowed me to inform my 
friend of the King's goodness. This action, which 
showed no less delicate politeness towards her than 
sensibility to the sufferings of the poor woman, made 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 309 

a deeper impression on Madame's heart than a pension 
of two thousand a year given to herself. 

Madame had terrible palpitations of the heart. Her 
heart actually seemed to leap. She consulted several 
physicians. I recollect that one of them made her 
walk up and down the room, lift a weight, and move 
quickly. On her expressing some surprise, he said, 
*' I do this to ascertain whether the organ is diseased; 
in that case motion quickens the pulsation; if that ef- 
fect is not produced, the complaint proceeds from the 
nerves." I repeated this to my oracle, Quesnay. He 
knew very little of this physician, but he said his 
treatment was that of a clever man. His name was 
Renard; he was scarcely known beyond the Marais. 
Madame often appeared suffocated, and sighed con- 
tinually. One day, under pretence of presenting a 
petition to M. de Choiseul, as he was going out, I said, 
in a low voice, that I wished to see him a few minutes 
on an affair of importance to my mistress. He told 
me to come as soon as I pleased, and that I should be 
admitted. I told him that Madame was extremely de- 
pressed; that she gave way to distressing thoughts, 
which she would not communicate; that she, one day, 
said to me, '' The fortune-teller told me I should have 
time to prepare myself; I believe it, for I shall be worn 
to death by melancholy." M. de Choiseul appeared 
much affected; he praised my zeal, and said that he 
had already perceived some indications of what I told 
him; that he would not mention my name, but would 
try to draw from her an explanation. I don't know 
what he said to her ; but, from that time, she was much 
more calm. One day, but long afterwards, Madame 
said to M. de Gontaut, " I am generally thought to 
have great influence, but if it were not for M. de 
Choiseul, I should not be able to obtain a Cross of St 
Louis." 



3IO MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

The King and Madame de Pompadour had a very 
high opinion of Madame de Choiseul. Madame said, 
" She always says the right thing in the right place." 
Madame de Grammont was not so agreeable to them; 
and I think that this was to be attributed, in part, to 
the sound of her voice, and to her blunt manner of 
speaking; for she was said to be a woman of great 
sense, and devotedly attached to the King and Madame 
de Pompadour. Some people pretended that she tried 
to captivate the King, and to supplant Madame: 
nothing could be more false, or more ridiculously im- 
probable. Madame saw a great deal of these two 
ladies, who were extremely attentive to her. She one 
day remarked to the Due d'Ayen, that M. de Choiseul 
was very fond of his sisters. " I know it, Madame," 
said he, " and many sisters are the better for that." 
" What do you mean ? " said she. " Why," said he, " as 
the Due de Choiseul loves his sister, it is thought fash- 
ionable to do the same; and I know silly girls, whose 
brothers formerly cared nothing about them, who 
are now most tenderly beloved. No sooner does their 
little finger ache, than their brothers are running about 
to fetch physicians from all corners of Paris. They flat- 
ter themselves that somebody will say, in M. de Choi- 

seul's drawing-room, " How passionately M. de 

loves his sister; he would certainly die if he had the 
misfortune to lose her." Madame related this to her 
brother, in my presence, adding, that she could not 
give it in the Duke's comic manner. M. de Marigny 
said, " I have had the start of them all, without mak- 
ing so much noise; and my dear little sister knows 
that I loved her tenderly before Madame de Gram- 
mont left her convent. The Due d'Ayen, however, is 
not very wrong; he has made the most of it in his 
lively manner, but it is partly true." " I forgot," 
replied Madame, " that the Duke said, * I want ex- 



MEMOIRS OF MME. DE POMPADOUR 311 

tremely to be in the fashion, but which sister shall I 
take up? Madame de Caumont is a devil incarnate, 
Madame de Villars drinks, Madame d'Armagnac is a 
bore, Madame de la Marck is half mad.' " " These 
are fine family portraits, Duke," said Madame. The 
Due de Gontaut laughed, during the whole of this 
conversation, immoderately. Madame repeated it, one 

day, when she kept her bed. M. de G also began 

to talk of his sister, Madame du Roure. I think, at 
least, that is the name he mentioned. He was very 
gay, and had the art of creating gaiety. Somebody 
said, he is an excellent piece of furniture for a 
favourite. He makes her laugh, and asks for nothing 
either for himself or for others; he cannot excite 
jealousy, and he meddles in nothing. He was called 
the White Eunuch. Madame's illness increased so 
rapidly that we were alarmed about her; but bleeding 
in the foot cured her as if by a miracle. The King 
watched her with the greatest solicitude; and I don't 
know whether his attentions did not contribute as 
much to the cure as the bleeding. M. de Choiseul re- 
marked, some days after, that she appeared in better 
spirits. I told him that I thought this improvement 
might be attributed to the same cause. 



THE MEMOIRS OF 
CATHERINE DE MEDICI 



BY THE 
ABBE BRANTOME 



INTRODUCTION 

The figure of Catherine de Medici is remarkable 
in history as being the pivotal point for more contro- 
versy than has ever centred about any other Queen 
of France, Of Italian descent, she became the wife of 
one French monarch, the mother of three others, and 
the dominant force behind that glittering Court which 
Brantome eulogises. Both of her daughters like- 
wise ascended thrones, — Elisabeth, became the wife 
of Philip 11. of Spain; while Marguerite (whose 
memoirs are found elsewhere in this volume) wedded 
Henry of Navarre, the life-long rival of the ambitious 
Queen Mother, who was destined to become Henry 
IV., displacing her tottering dynasty. 

Brant6me''s tribute to this famous Queen will be read 
with great interest, but it is unnecessary to caution the 
reader to accept it ctim grano salts; for Brantome's 
likes and dislikes are at all times apt to run away with 
his historical judgment. Says Louis Moland in an 
introduction to the French edition of the Abbe's works : 
"The admiration which he professes for these grand 
princesses whom he has the honour of depicting so 
influences him that, despite his notorious credulity on 
this point, he shows them all, or nearly all, as perfectly 
virtuous." Nevertheless, his portraits, though coloured 
with the most favourable tints, are of great value as 
portraits from life. "I saw it," "I was there," are his 
favourite expressions in narrating an incident. 

The study of Catherine is a typical example of his 

315 



3i6 INTRODUCTION 

work. He had lived at her Court and received many 
favours at her hands. He nov^ sets himself the task of 
answering her calumniators and paying a tribute to 
her memory. This spirit of chivalry is certainly ad- 
mirable, albeit the results may show as more partisan 
than accurate. It is interesting to compare this with 
Honore de Balzac's more extended work, "Sur Cathe- 
rine de Medicis/' which is designated as a romance but 
is actually a careful historical portrait of the Queen. 

Catherine's whole life may be said to have combined 
romance with history. She was the daughter of 
Lorenzo de Medici, that famous ruler of Florence for 
whom Machiavelli wrote his "Prince." Having been 
left an orphan at an early age, she was sent to a con- 
vent to be educated, but left there at fourteen to be- 
come the wife of the Dauphin, afterwards Henry II. 
of France. Her royal father-in-law was the celebrated 
Francis I., the life-long rival of Henry VIII. of Eng- 
land, on the one hand, and the Emperor Charles V., 
on the other. During his reign Catherine remained 
in obscurity, and was even threatened with divorce, 
as for ten years she remained childless. On hearing 
that Francis was considering this decree for state rea- 
sons, she planned her first bold stroke. With Italian 
finesse she made her way to the King at a favour- 
able moment, threw herself at his feet, and expressed 
her willingness to submit to the royal will. "Do with 
me as you choose, sire," she said; "let me remain the 
dutiful wife of your son; or if it may please you to 
choose another, let me serve as one of her humblest 
attendants." Her speech won the heart of Francis, 
she was reinstated in favour, and finally had the happi- 
ness of bringing him grandchildren ere he died. This 
was one reason for the great veneration in which 
Catherine always held his memory, and to which 
Brantome alludes. 



INTRODUCTION 317 

Indeed, the dominant trait with her throughout her 
long life was loyalty to her family and their interests, 
— a loyalty fine in the abstract, but which was to lead 
her along many doubtful and devious ways. It caused 
her to match prince against prince, party against party, 
religion against religion, until the culminating horror 
of St. Bartholomew's Massacre was reached, — charge- 
able directly to her, despite the strenuous denials of 
Brantome. Henry IV., the royal son-in-law who suf- 
fered so much at her hands, was broad-minded enough 
to palliate her offences on the ground of this family 
loyalty. Claude Grouard quotes him as saying to a 
Florentine ambassador in regard to Catherine: "I 
ask you what a poor woman could do, left by the 
death of her husband, with five little children on her 
arms, and two families in France who were thinking 
to grasp the crown, — ours and the Guises. Was she 
not compelled to play strange parts to deceive first one 
and then the other, in order to guard, as she has done, 
her sons who have successively reigned through the 
wise conduct of that shrewd woman? I am only sur- 
prised that she never did worse. 

Sainte-Beuve in his ''Causeries du Lundi'* gives us 
additional glimpses of this Queen, basing his views 
upon those of Mezeray, author of an olde^ "History 
of France" : Mezeray, who never thinks of the dra- 
matic, nevertheless makes known to us at the start his 
principal personages; he shows them more especially 
in action, without detaching them too much from the 
general sentiment and interests of which they are the 
leaders and representatives, while, at the same time, he 
leaves to each his individual physiognomy. . . . Cathe- 
rine de Medici is painted there in all her dissimulation 
and her network of artifices, in which she herself was 
often caught; ambitious of sovereign power without 
possessing either the force or the genius for it ; striving 



'318 INTRODUCTION 

to obtain it by craft, and using for this purpose a con- 
tinual system of what we should call today 'see-saw- 
ing' — 'rousing and elevating for a time one faction, 
putting to sleep or lowering another; uniting herself 
sometimes with the feeblest side out of caution, lest 
the stronger should crush her; sometimes with the 
stronger from necessity ; at times standing neutral when 
she felt herself strong enough to command both sides, 
but without intention to extinguish either.' Far from 
being always too" Catholic, there are moments when 
she seems to lean to the Reformed religion and to 
wish to grant too much to that party; and this with 
more sincerity, perhaps, than belonged to her natur- 
ally. The Catherine de Medici, such as she presents 
herself and is developed in plain truth on the pages of 
Mezeray is well calculated to tempt a modern writer." 

It is precisely to this temptation that Balzac has 
yielded, in his book already mentioned. His summing- 
up of her character is as follows : ''Catherine de Medici 
has suffered more from popular error than almost any 
other woman . . . and yet she saved the throne of 
France, she maintained the royal authority 'under cir- 
cumstances to which more than one great prince would 
have succumbed. Face to face with such leaders of 
the factions, and ambitions of the houses of Guise and 
of Bourbon as the Cardinals de Lorraine and the two 
'Balafres,' the two Princes de Conde, Henry IV., 
Montmorency, the Colignys, she was forced to put 
forth the rarest fine qualities, the most essential gifts 
of statesmanship, under the fire of the Calvinist press. 
These, at any rate, are indisputable facts. And to the 
student who digs deep into the history of the sixteenth 
century in France, the figure of Catherine de Medici 
stands out as that of a great king . . . 

"Hemmed in between a race of princes who pro- 
claimed themselves the heirs of Charlemagne, and a 



INTRODUCTION 319 

factious younger branch that was eager to bury the 
Constable de Bourbon's treason under the throne; 
obHged too, to fight down a heresy on the verge of de- 
vouring the monarchy, without friends, and aware of 
treachery in the chiefs of the CathoHc party and of 
repubhcanism in the Calvinists, Catherine used the 
most dangerous but the surest of pohtical weapons — 
Craft. She determined to deceive by turns the party 
that was anxious to secure the downfall of the house 
of Valois, the Bourbons who aimed at the Crown, and 
the Reformers. . . . Indeed, so long as she lived, the 
Valois sat on the throne. The great M. de Thou un- 
derstood the worth of this woman when he exclaimed 
on hearing of her death : Tt is not a woman, it is 
Royalty that dies in her' !" 

On the contrary, if one will follow the genial Dumas 
through the pages of his Valois Romances, he will find 
a French writer who, while loyal to the kingly line, 
does not hesitate to paint this woman in unlovely 
colors. She is here the low intriguer who does not 
stop at assassination to gain her ends. On only one 
point, indeed, do historians and romancers seem to 
agree: she is always interesting — ^never commonplace. 
She fills a definite niche in an important period, and 
her personal reputation must be handled as a thing 
apart. 

This portrait of her by Brantome is one of a series 
of papers comprising his "Lives of Illustrious Ladies," 
— or as he preferred to call it, "Book of the Ladies." 
Brantome himself lived an adventurous life. Born in 
Perigord in 1537, he was only eighteen years younger 
than the queen he here discusses. His family, the de 
Bourdeilles, was one of the oldest and most respected 
in that province. "Not to boast of myself," he says, 
"I can assert that none of my race has ever been home- 
keeping; they have spent as much time in travels and 



320 INTRODUCTION 

wars as any, no matter who they be, in France." The 
young Pierre had his first experience in Court life, at 
the Court of Marguerite, sister of Francis L, to whom 
his mother was lady-in-waiting. As he was the young- 
est of the family, he was destined for the priesthood — 
which he always regarded from the militant, rather 
than the spiritual side— and when only sixteen King 
Henry II. bestowed upon him the Abbey of Brantome. 

The record of his life thereafter is one of travel and 
adventure in many lands. It is the period of the 
Renaissance, when wars and conquests, intrigues and 
romances, poetry and song flourish, — in all of which 
our Abbe is equally at home! He goes with the Due 
de Guise to escort the young widowed Queen, Mary, 
back to her Scottish throne. He visits Marguerite de 
Valois in her retirement and is so smitten by her 
beauty that he dedicates all his books to her. And 
during his busy, adventurous life he finds time to set 
down many things which he sees and hears. Some 
of these stories smack of the scandalous, but all un- 
doubtedly reflect the spirit and manners of the time. 

After a long life, Brantome passed away in 1614, 
and although a clause in his will expressly related to 
the publication of his works they were left in MS. 
form, in his castle of Richemont, for half a century. 
They were finally published in Ley den, in 1665, ^^^ 
have been frequently reprinted since. 



THE MEMOIRS OF 
CATHERINE DE MEDICI 

I HAVE wondered a hundred times, and been as- 
tonished, that, with so many good writers as we 
have had in France in our day, none of them 
have been inquisitive enough to bring out some sketches 
on the hfe and deeds of the Queen-Mother, Catherine 
de Medici, since she has given ample material, and did 
as much fine work as ever was done by a queen — as 
once said the Emperor Charles to Paolo Giovio on his 
return from his triumphant voyage in the "Goulette," 
when wishing to declare war against King Francis, 
that it was only necessary to be provided with paper 
and ink, to supply him with any amount of work. 

True it is that this Queen cut out so much work, 
that any clever and industrious writer might build from 
it a complete Iliad ; but the writers have all proven lazy 
or ungrateful, although she was never niggardly to 
learned men, or those writers of her times. I could 
name several who derived favors from the Queen, and 
for this reason do I accuse them of ingratitude. 

There was one, however, who did attempt to write 
of her, and who brought out a little book which he 
called "The Life of Catherine," but it is an imposture 
and not worthy of belief, since it is more full of lies 
than truth, as she herself said, when she saw the book. 
The errors are so glaring as to be apparent to all, and 
are thus easily noted and rejected. 

The author wished her mortal harm, and was inimi- 
cal to her name, to her station, to her life, to her 

321 



322 THE MEMOIRS OF 

honor and to her nature, and for this reason he should 
be rejected. 

As for myself, I would that I could speak well, or 
that I had a fluent pen at my command that I might 
exalt and praise her as she deserves. 

At any rate, be my pen what it may, I shall use it 
at all hazards. 

This Queen is descended, on her father's side, from 
the race of the Medici, one of the noblest and most 
illustrious families, not only in Italy but in Chris- 
tendom. 

Whatever may be said, she was a foreigner to these 
parts, since the alliances of the royal houses cannot 
commonly be made with those within their kingdoms. 
Nor is it often for the best, since foreign marriages 
are often more advantageous than those made nearer 
home. 

The House of the Medici has ever been allied with 
the Crown of France, and still bears the Ueiir-de-lys 
that King Louis XI granted that house as a token of 
alliance and perpetual confederation. 

On her mother's side she is descended from 
one of the noblest houses of France; a house 
truly French in race, in heart and in affection, 
that great house of Boulogne and of the County 
of Auvergne. 

Thus it is difficult to say or to decide which of 
these two houses is the grander, or which is the more 
memorable by its deeds. 

Here is what is said of them by the Archbishop of 
Bourges, he of the house of Beaune, as great a scholar 
and as worthy a prelate as there is in Christendom 
(although there are some who say that he was a trifle 
unsteady in belief, and of little worth in the scales of 
M. Saint-Michel, who weighs good Christians for the 
day of judgment, or so 'tis said). It is found in the 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 323 

funeral oration which the Archbishop made upon the 
said Queen at Blois. 

In the days when that great captain of the Gauls, 
Brennus, led his forces through Italy and Greece, there 
were in his troop two French nobles, one named 
Felsinus, the other named Bono, who seeing the wicked 
designs of Brennus to invade and desecrate the temple 
of Delphos, after his great conquests, withdrew their 
forces and passed into Asia with their ships and 
followers. 

They pushed on until they entered the sea of Medes, 
which is near Lydia and Persia. 

Thence, after gaining many victories and obtain- 
ing many conquests, they retired, and while returning 
through Italy on their way to France, Felsinus stopped 
on the site of what is now Florence, beside the river 
Arno, a place which he saw was beautiful and com- 
manding and situated much as another place which had 
pleased him much in the country of the Medes. 

There he built the city which to-day is Florence. 

His companion, Bono, built a second, and neigh- 
boring city which he called Bononia, the modern 
Bologna. 

Henceforth Felsinus was called Medicus by his 
intimates, in commemoration of his victories and con- 
quests among the Medes, a name that became the 
family name, just as we read of Paulus being sur- 
named Macedonicus, on account of his conquest of 
Macedonia from Perseus, and of Scipio being called 
Af ricanus for doing the like in Africa. 

I do not know from what source M. de Beaune got 
his history, but it is very probable, that, speaking as he 
did before the King and such an august assembly, 
there convened for, the funeral of the Queen, M. de 
Beaune would not have made the statement without 

good authority. 

Memoirs — 11 Vol. 1 



324 THE MEMOIRS OF 

This descent is very different from the modern story 
invented and attributed without cause to the Medici 
family, according to that lying book on the life of 
the Queen, which I have mentioned. 

Furthermore, continues the aforementioned Sieur 
de Beaune, one reads in the chronicles that a certain 
Everard de Medici, Sieur of Florence, many years 
afterwards, went with many of his subjects to the 
assistance of Charlemagne in his expedition in Italy 
against Didier, king of the Lombards, and having 
courageously succoured and assisted him was granted 
and invested with the lordship of Florence. 

Many years later, one Anemond de Medici, also a 
Sieur of Florence, accompanied, with many of his sub- 
jects, Godefroy de Bouillon to the Holy Land, where 
he died at the siege of Nicsea in Asia. 

Such greatness continued in that family down to the 
time when Florence was reduced to a republic by the 
internecine wars in Italy between the emperors and the 
people, the illustrious members of this family con- 
tinually manifesting their valour and grandeur from 
time to time, as we see in these later days, how Cosmo 
de Medici, with his arms, his navy and ships struck 
terror into the Turks on the Mediterranean and even 
in the distant East; so that none since his time, no 
matter how great he may have been, has surpassed 
him in strength, valour and wealth, as has been re- 
corded by Raffaelle Volaterano. 

The temples and sacred shrines built by him, 
the hospitals founded by him, even as far as 
Jerusalem, all give ample proof of his piety and 
magnanimity. 

Then there was Lorenzo de Medici, sumamed the 
Great on account of his virtuous deeds, and the two 
great popes, Leo and Clement, besides many cardinals 
and great personages of the name, including the Grand 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 325 

Duke of Tuscany, Cosmo de Medici, a wise and wary 
man, if there ever was one. 

He succeeded in retaining his duchy, which he 
found invaded and in great distress when he in- 
herited it. 

In short, nothing can rob this house of the Medici 
of its lustre, and of its nobleness and grandeur in all 
ways. 

As to the house of Boulogne and Auvergne, who 
can deny its greatness, descending as it does from that 
noble Eustache de Boulogne, whose brother, Godefroy 
de Bouillon, who bore his arms and escutcheons with 
that vast number of princes, seigneurs, chevaliers, 
and Christian soldiers even to Jerusalem and to the 
sepulchre of our Saviour, where he would have made 
himself, by his sword and by the favour of God, king, 
not only of Jerusalem, but also of the greater part of 
the East, to the confusion of Mahomet, the Saracens, 
and the Mahometans, to the amazement of all the rest 
of the world, and would have replanted Christianity 
in Asia when it had fallen to the lowest depths ? 

Besides this house had ever been sought in alliance 
by all the monarchies of Christendom and by the great 
families, such as those of France, England, Scotland, 
Hungary, and Portugal, which latter kingdom be- 
longed to it of right, as I have heard President de Thou 
say, and as the Queen herself did me the honor tO' tell 
me at Bordeaux, when she heard of the death of 
King Sebastian. The Medici were even allowed to 
argue the justice of their claims at the last Assembly 
of States previous to the death of King Henry. 

And it was for this reason that she armed M. de 
Strozzi for an invasion of Portugal, where the King 
of Spain had usurped the kingdom. She was pre- 
vented from carrying out her well-chosen plans by rea- 
sons which I will explain at another time. 



^26 THE MEMOIRS OF 

I will leave it to you, therefore, whether the house 
of Boulogne was great : yea, so great it is that I once 
heard Pope Pius IV say, while sitting at table at a 
dinner he gave after he had made Ferrara and Guise 
cardinals, that the house of Boulogne was so great and 
noble he knew none in France, no matter which, that 
could surpass it in antiquity, valour, and grandeur. 

All this is much against those malicious detractors, 
who have said that this Queen was a Florentine of 
lowly birth, as one can see the contrary to be the case. 

Moreover, she was not so poor since she brought to 
France as portion of her marriage estates which are 
valued to-day twenty-six thousand livres, such as the 
Counties of Auvergne and Lauragais, the seigneuries 
of Leverons, Donzenac, Boussac, Gorreges, Honde- 
court, and other lands — all inherited from her mother. 

Her dowry included also more than two hundred 
thousand ducats, which are worth to-day over four 
hundred thousand ; as well as great quantities of furni- 
ture, precious stones, jewels, including the finest and 
the largest pearls ever seen in such quantities, pearls 
that she afterwards gave to the Queen of Scotland 
[Mary Stuart], her daughter-in-law, whom I have seen 
wearing them. Besides all this, many manors, houses, 
deeds, and claims which she possessed in Italy. 

But, more than all else, her marriage caused a 
strengthening in the fortunes of France, which had 
been so shaken by the imprisonment of the King and 
by his losses at Milan and Naples. 

King Francis, it is well known, knew that such a 
marriage greatly helped his interests. Therefore there 
was given to this Queen, as a device, a rainbow, which 
she bore as long as she was married, with these words 
in Greek, ^'"'9 ^^^p^^ ^jdk yaXf>7]v, which is the equivalent 
of saying that just as this fire and bow in the heavens 
brings and signifies good weather, just so this Queen 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 327 

was a true sign of clearness, o£ serenity and of the 
tranquillity of peace. The Greek is thus translated : 
Lucent fert et serenitatem — she brings light and 
serenity. 

After that the Emperor [Charles V] no longer 
dared to push forward his ambitious motto : "Ever 
farther." For^ notwithstanding the truce which ex- 
isted between himself and King Francis, he was 
nursing his ambition with the plan of gaining always 
from France whatever he could; and he was much 
surprised at this alliance with the Pope [Clement VII], 
yet recognising the latter as an able, a courageous man, 
but vindictive on account of his imprisonment by the 
imperial troops at the sack of Rome. 

Such a marriage was displeasing to him so much 
that I have heard a truthful lady of the Court say 
that if he had not been married to the Empress, he 
would have made an alliance with the Pope himself, 
and espoused his niece [Catherine de Medici], as much 
for the help of so strong a part}^ as because he feared 
the Pope would help in losing for him Naples, Milan 
and Genoa ; for the Pope had promised King Francis, 
in an authentic document, when he had delivered the 
money of his niece's dowry and her rings and jewels, 
that he would make the dowry worthy of such a mar- 
riage by adding to it three pearls of inestimable value, 
the excessive splendour of which caused envy and 
covetousness among the greatest of kings, meaning the 
three cities of Naples, Milan and Genoa. And it can- 
not be doubted that if the Pope had lived the natural 
span of his life he would have sold out the Emperor 
too, and made him pay well for that imprisonment, in 
order to enrich his niece and the kingdom to which 
she was joined. But Clement VII died too soon and 
all these expected gains could not withstand this blow. 
So that our Queen, having lost her mother, Magdelaine 



Z2S THE MEMOIRS OF 

de Boulogne, and Lorenzo de Medici, Duke of Urbino, 
her father, in her early Hfe, was given in marriage to 
France by her uncle, Pope Clement VII, and was 
brought by sea in great triumph to Marseilles, where 
at the age of fourteen she was wedded with great 
ceremony. 

She made herself so beloved by the King, her 
father-in-law, and by King Henry, her husband, that 
after ten years had passed and still no heir being born 
to her, and though many persons endeavoured to per- 
suade the King and the Dauphin, her husband, to 
divorce her, neither one would consent, so greatly did 
they love her. But after ten years, in accordance with 
the nature of the women of the Medici family, who 
were ever slow in conceiving, she began to furnish 
heirs, the first being King Francis II. 

After him was born the Queen of Spain, and then 
consecutively, that fine and illustrious progeny whom we 
have all seen, besides others who were no sooner born 
than they died, by great misfortune and fatality. For 
this reason the King, her husband, loved her more and 
more, and in such manner that he, who was naturally 
of an amorous temperament, and who greatly liked to 
make love and to vary his loves, often said that of 
all the women in the world there was none who ex- 
celled his wife for love-making, nor did any equal her. 

He had good cause for saying this, for she truly was 
a princess beautiful as well as lovable. She was of 
fine and stately presence; of great majesty, at the same 
time gentle when occasion required it ; of noble appear- 
ance and good grace, her face handsome and agreeable, 
her bosom full, beautiful, and exquisitely fair, her body 
also very fair, the flesh firm, the skin smooth, as I 
have heard from several ladies-in-waiting; of a good 
plumpness as well, the leg and thigh well formed (as 
I have heard too from the same ladies). 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 329 

She also took great pride in being' well shod and in 
having her stockings tightly drawn up without wrinkles. 
Besides all this she possessed the most beautiful hand 
that was ever seen, as I believe. The poets once 
praised Aurora for her fine hands and tapering fingers ; 
but I think our Queen would surpass her in that ; and 
she carefully guarded and maintained this beauty to 
her dying day. 

King Henry III, her son, inherited much of this 
beauty of the hand. 

Moreover she always dressed herself well and su- 
perbly, often with some new and pretty conceit. In 
short, she had many charms in herself to make her 
well loved. I remember that at Lyons one day she 
went to see a painter named Corneille who had painted 
and exhibited in a spacious room portraits of all the 
great seigneurs, princes, cavaliers, queens, princesses, 
ladies and maids of honour of the Court, and she being 
in this room with us we all saw there her portrait 
painted true to life, showing her in all her beauty and 
perfection, apparelled as a Frenchwoman with a cap, 
showing her great pearls, and a gown whose wide 
sleeves of silver tissue were trimmed with lynx — ^the 
whole picture, which also showed the portraits of her 
three daughters, was so perfect that speech alone 
seemed lacking. 

The Queen took great pleasure in seeing the portrait, 
and the assembled company did likewise, and praised 
and admired her beauty above all. 

She herself was so ravished at the sight of the por- 
trait that she could not take her gaze from it, until 
M. de Nemours came to her and said, "Madame, I 
think you are so well portrayed there that there re- 
mains nothing more to be said, and it seems to me, 
too, that your daughters do you great honour, for 
they do not excel you, nor surpass you." 



330 THE MEMOIRS OF 

To this the Queen replied, "My cousin, I think you 
can remember the period, the age, and the dress rep- 
resented in this portrait, so that you can judge better 
than any one present, you who have seen me dressed 
as I am represented in this portrait, and can say 
whether I was esteemed as much as they say, and 
whether I ever looked as I am portrayed there." 

There was not one in the whole company who did 
not lavish praise and estimate her beauty highly, and 
who did not say that the mother was worthy of the 
daughters and the daughters of the mother. And this 
beauty remained her portion through life, while mar- 
ried and while widowed, until her death; not that she 
had the freshness of her more blooming and younger 
years, but still she remained well preserved, always 
agreeable, always desirable. 

Besides she was very good company, always of a 
good humour; loving any becoming exercise, such as 
dancing, in which she exhibited great grace and 
dignity. 

She also greatly loved hunting ; about which I heard 
a lady of the Court tell this tale : King Francis having 
chosen and gathered a few of his Court whom he 
called "the little band of Court ladies," which included 
the handsomest, daintiest and most favoured, often es- 
caped from the Court and went to other estates to 
hunt deer and while away the time, sometimes stay- 
ing thus in retreat eight days, ten days, sometimes 
more, sometimes less, just as the humour took him. 

Our Queen (who was then simply Madame la 
Dauphine) seeing that such parties were made up with- 
out her, and that even Mesdames her sisters-in-law were 
included while she was left at home, begged the King 
to always take her with him, and to further honour 
her by never allowing her to go about without being 
accompanied by him. 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 331 

It's said that she, who was always shrewd and clever, 
did this as much or more to watch the King's move- 
ments and to learn his secrets and to be able to hear 
and know all that went on, as she did it from pure 
liking for the chase. 

King Francis was so pleased with this request, 
showing, as it seemed, the love she had for his 
company, that he heartily granted her request. He 
loved her more now than ever before and showed 
delight in giving her the pleasures of the hunt, 
which she followed, riding at full speed and ever 
by his side. 

She was a good and fearless horseback rider, sitting 
her horse with easy grace, and was the first to ride with 
the leg around the pommel, which was more graceful 
and becoming than the former mode of sitting with 
feet upon a board. She loved to ride horseback even 
up to the time she was sixty years old and over, and 
when her growing feebleness prevented her riding she 
pined for it. It was one of her greatest pleasures to 
ride far and fast, though she had many falls, even 
breaking her leg and bruising her head so severely that 
it had to be trepanned. After she became a widow and 
had charge of the King and the kingdom, she accom- 
panied the King everywhere and took all her children 
with her; and when the King, her husband, was still 
living she generally accompanied him to the stag and 
other hunts. If he played pall-mall she often watched 
him, and sometmes played herself. She was also fond 
of shooting baked clay balls with a cross-bow, and she 
shot well too; so that she alwa3^s took with her her 
cross-bow when riding, in order if any game was seen 
she could shoot it. When she was kept indoors by bad 
weather she was forever devising some new dance or 
beautiful ballet. She invented games as well and 
passed her time by these devices, being quite unre- 



ZZ2 THE MEMOIRS OF 

served, but knowing how to be grave and austere when 
occasion demanded it. 

She was fond of seeing comedies and tragedies en- 
acted, but after "Sophonisbe," a tragedy written by M. 
de Saint-Gelais, was well presented at Blois by her 
daughters, maids-of-honor and other ladies as well as 
gentlemen of her Court during the celebration attendant 
on the marriages of M. du Cypiere and the Marquis 
d'Elboeuf, she took the notion that tragedies were un- 
lucky for state affairs and so would not let them be 
played again. But she still listened readily enough to 
comedies and tragi-comedies, even such as "Zani" and 
"Pantaloon" and took great pleasure in them, laughing 
as heartily as any one, for she liked laughter, being 
naturally of a happy disposition, loving a witty word 
and being ever ready with a witty rejoinder, knowing 
well when to cast a jest or a stone, and when to with- 
hold it. 

In the afternoons she passed her time at work on her 
silk embroideries, in which she was as perfect as 
possible. 

In short the Queen liked and practiced all healthy 
exercises, and there was not one that was worthy of 
herself or her sex that the Queen did not wish to essay 
and practice. 

This is a brief description, avoiding prolixity, of 
the beauty of her person and of her various exercises. 

When she called any one "my friend" it was be- 
cause she either thought him a fool or was angry with 
him. This was so well known that once when she had 
thus addressed one of her attendant gentlemen, named 
M. de Bois-Fevrier, he made reply, "Alas, Madame, I 
would rather have you call me 'enemy,' for to call me 
your friend is the equivalent of saying either I am a 
fool or that you are angry with me, for I have long 
known your nature." 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 333 

As for her mind, it was great and admirable, as is 
shown by so many fine and striking acts, by which her 
hfe has been made illustrious forever. 

The King, her husband, as well as his Council of 
State esteemed her so highly that when the King 
left the kingdom on his journey to Germany, he 
established and placed her as Regent and Governor 
throughout his dominions during his absence by royal 
declaration solemnly made before the Houses of Parlia- 
ment in Paris. This trust she exercised sO' wisely that 
there was no disturbance, change, nor alteration in the 
State because of the King's absence; but, on the con- 
trary, the Queen so carefully saw to affairs that she was 
able to assist the King with money, means, and men, 
and other kinds of aid ; which greatly aided him in his 
return and for the conquest which he made of cities in 
the duchy of Luxembourg, such as Yvoy, Montmedy, 
Dampvilliers, Chimay and others. 

I leave it to you what must be thought of him who 
wrote that fine life when he slanders her by saying 
that never did the King, her husband, allow her to put 
her nose into matters of state. 

Was not this making her Regent in his absence giv- 
ing her ample opportunities to have full knowledge of 
them? And she did this during all the trips he made 
yearly in going to his armies. 

What did she do after the battle of Saint-Laurens, 
when the state was so shaken and the King had 
hastened to Compiegne to raise a new army ? 

She became so wrapped up in state affairs that she 
so aroused and stirred up the gentlemen of Paris that 
they gave prompt aid to their King, which came at a 
good time, and included money and other things very 
necessary in war. 

Furthermore, when the King, her husband, was 
wounded, persons who were there and saw it cannot 



334 THE MEMOIRS OF 

be uninformed of the great care she took for his cure, 
and the vigils she kept by his bedside ; the prayers she 
offered continuously; the processions and visitations 
she made to the churches; and the hurried journeys she 
made in all directions for doctors and surgeons. But 
the King's hour had come; and when he passed from 
this world to the next, her grief was so great and she 
shed so many tears that it would seem she never could 
control them, and ever after, whenever his name was 
spoken the tears welled up from the depths of her eyes. 
For this reason she assumed a device in keeping and 
suitable to her tears and mourning, namely, a mound 
of quicklime over which the drops from heaven fall 
abundantly, with these words in Latin as a motto: 
Adorem extincta testantur vwere flamma (Although 
the flame is extinguished, this testifies that the fire 
still lives). The drops of water, like her tears, 
show ardour, though the flame has been extin- 
guished. This device is allegorical of the nature of 
quicklime, which when watered burns strangely and 
shows its fire though the flame is wanting. Thus did 
our Queen show her zeal and affection by her tears, 
though the flame, which typified her husband, was now 
extinct. And this was the same as saying that, although 
he was dead, she wished to show by her tears that she 
could never forget him, but would love him alv/ays. 

A similar device was formerly borne by Madame 
Valentine de Milan, Duchess d'Orleans, after the death 
of her husband, who was killed in Paris, for whom she 
grieved so much, that as a solace and comfort in her 
mourning, she assumed as device a watering pot, above 
which was an S, meaning, it is said. Settle, souvenir, 
soncis, soupirer ('Lonoly, remembrance, solicitude, sigh- 
ing). And around the watering-pot were inscribed 
these words, Rien ne m'est plus; plus ne in' est rie^i 
(Nought is more to me ; more is to me nothing) . This 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 335 

device is still to be seen in her chapel in the Church o£ 
the Franciscans at Blois. 

Good King Rene of Sicily having lost his wife 
Isabel, Duchess de Lorraine, suffered such great grief 
that he never was happy afterwards ; and when his inti- 
mate friends and favourites tried to console him he was 
wont to lead them to his bedroom and there show them 
a picture, painted by himself (for he was an excellent 
painter), depicting a Turkish bow unstrung, beneath 
which was written^ Arco per lentare piaga non sana 
(The bow although unstrung heals not the wounds). 

Then King Rene would thus address them : "My 
friends, with this picture I answer all your arguments. 
By unstringing a bow, or by breaking the string, the 
harm done by the arrow can quickly be prevented, but 
the life of my dear spouse being broken and extin- 
guished by death, the wound to the loyal love that ever 
filled my heart for her while she lived cannot be cured." 
In various places in Angers these Turkish bows with 
broken strings can be seen, with these words inscribed 
beneath, Arco per lentare piaga non sana (The loosened 
bow does not heal the wound). The same is seen on 
the Franciscan church, in the Chapel of Saint-Ber- 
nardin, which he decorated. He assumed this device 
after the death of his Queen, although during her life- 
time he had used another one. 

Our Queen, around her device, which I have de- 
scribed, placed many trophies, such as cracked mirrors, 
fans, rumpled plumes, pearls, broken quivers, precious 
stones and jewels scattered about, bits of broken chains, 
the whole to signify the abandoning of all worldly 
pomp, since, now that her husband w^as dead, her 
mourning for him was never to cease, and without 
the grace of God and the courage which He had 
given her, she would have succumbed to her great 
grief and distress. But she saw that her young chil- 



ZZ^ THE MEMOIRS OF 

dren, as well as France, needed her aid, as we ourselves 
have seen since by experience; for, like a Semlramis, 
or a second Athalie, she foiled, saved, guarded and 
preserved these same young children from many enter- 
prises planned against them during their early years; 
and accomplished this with so much prudence and in- 
dustry that all thought her wonderful. 

She was Regent of this kingdom after the death of 
King Francis, her son, and during the minority of our 
kings by the ordinance of the Estates of Orleans, and 
this, which well might have been given to the King of 
Navarre, who as premier prince of the blood wished to 
be Regent in her place, and to be Governor over all. 
But she won over so easily and dexterously the said 
Estates that if the King of Navarre had not gone else- 
where, she would have had him attainted of the crime 
of lese-majeste. 

And it is possible that but for Madame de Mont- 
pensier, who had great influence over her, she would 
still have done so on account of the intrigue against 
the Estates intO' which he forced the Prince de Conde. 

So the aforementioned King was obliged to content 
himself to serve under her, and this was one of the 
shrewd and subtle moves she made in the beginning 
of her management of affairs. Afterwards she knew 
how to maintain her rank and authority so imperiously 
that no one dared deny it, no matter how grand or 
how strenuous he might be, as was shown after a 
period of three months when, during a stay of the 
Court at Fontainebleau, this same King of Navarre, 
wishing to show the resentment still in his heart, took 
offence because M. de Guise had the keys of the King's 
palace brought to him each night, and kept them all 
night in his room exactly like a grand master of the 
household (for that was one of his appointments), so 
that no one could go out without his permission. 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 337 

This angered greatly the King of Navarre, who him- 
self wished to keep the keys. On being refused the 
keys, he grew spiteful and rebellious to such an extent 
that one morning he suddenly came to the King and 
Queen and announced his intention of taking leave of 
the Court, and of taking with him all the princes of the 
blood, whom he had won over, including M. le Con- 
netable de Montmorency, his children and nephew. 

The Queen, who did not expect this move, was as- 
tounded at first, and did all in her power tO' avert the 
blow, giving assurances to the King of Navarre that if 
he would but be patient he would some day be satisfied 
with afifairs. 

But fair words gained her nothing with the King, 
who was determined to leave. 

It was then that our Queen decided on this shrewd 
plan: She sent orders to M. le Connetable, as princi- 
pal, first and oldest ofiQcer of the crown, to remain near 
the person of the King, his master, as then his office 
demanded, and not to take his departure. 

M. le Connetable, being a wise and judicious man, 
and being zealous for his master's interests as well as 
alert to his grandeur and honour, after reflecting on his 
duty and the orders sent him, went to the King and 
announced himself ready to fulfil his office. 

This greatly astonished the King of Navarre, who 
was on the point of mounting his horse, waiting only 
the arrival of M. le Connetable to depart. 

M. le Connetable when he came explained his duty 
and the responsibility of his office and endeavoured to 
persuade the King of Navarre himself not to budge or 
take his departure. This he did so well that the King 
of Navarre at his urging went to see the King and 
Queen, and after conferring with their majesties he 
gave up his journey and countermanded his orders for 
his mules, they having by that time arrived at Melun. 



338 THE MEMOIRS OF 

So peace once more reigned, to the great joy of the 
King of Navarre. 

Not that M. de Guise diminished any of his claims 
pertaining to his office, or yielded one atom of his 
honour, for he retained his pre-eminence and all that 
belonged to him, without being shaken in the least, al- 
though he was not the stronger ; but in such affairs he 
was a man of the world and was never bewildered, but 
knew well how to face things courageously and to keep 
to his rank, and to hold what he had. 

It cannot be doubted, as all the world knows, but 
that, if the Queen had not bethought herself of this 
scheme regarding M. le Connetable, all that party 
wxDuld have gone to Paris and stirred up trouble for 
us, for which reason great credit should be given the 
Queen for her makeshift. 

I know, for I was there, that many said that the 
plan was not of her invention, but rather that of Cardi- 
nal de Tournon, a wise and judicious prelate; but this 
is false, for, old hand as he was for prudence and 
counsel, my faith, the Queen knew more tricks than he, 
or all the Council of the King put together. 

For often, when he was at fault, she would help him 
and put him on the track of what he ought to know, of 
which I might give many examples; but it will be 
enough to cite this one instance, which is recent, and 
about which the Queen herself did me the honour to 
disclose. 

It is as follows : 

When she went to Guyenne, and, later, to Coignac 
to reconcile the princes of the Religion and those of the 
League, and so give peace to the kingdom again — for 
she saw that it would soon be ruined by this division — 
she determined to declare a truce in order to formulate 
this peace; because of which the King of Navarre and 
the Prince de Conde became very discontented and 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 339 

mutinous — for the reason, they said, that this procla- 
mation did them great harm because of their foreign 
troops, who, having heard of it, might repent of their 
coming, or might delay in coming, thinking that the 
Queen had made it with that very intention. 

And they declared and resolved not to see the Queen 
nor to treat with her until the said truce was revoked. 

Her Council, whom she had with her, though com- 
posed of able men^ she found to be without much sense 
and weak, because they could find no means by which 
this truce could be rescinded. 

The Queen then said to them, "Truly, you are very 
stupid as to finding a remedy. Don't you know any 
better ? There is only one solution to this. You have 
at Maillezais the Huguenot regiment of Neufvy and of 
Sorlu. Send for me from here, from Niort, all the 
arquebuslers you can muster and cut the regiment to 
pieces and so you will have the truce broken and re- 
scinded without any further trouble." 

And as soon as she commanded it, it was done, 
the arquebusiers started, led by Captain I'Estelle, and 
forced their fort and barricades so well that the 
Huguenot regiment was defeated, Sorlu killed, who 
was a valiant man, Neufvy taken prisoner and many 
others killed. Their flags were all captured and 
brought to the Queen at Niort. She showed her ac- 
customed clemency by pardoning all, and sent them 
away with their ensigns and flags, which, as regards 
flags, is a very rare thing. 

But she wished to make this concession, she told me, 
on account of its very rarity, so that the princes 
would now know that they had to deal with a very 
able princess, and that they should not apply to her 
such mockery as to make her revoke a truce by the very 
heralds who had proclaimed it. FoY while they were 
planning to give her this insult, she had fallen upon 



340 THE MEMOIRS OF 

them, and now sent word to them by the prisoners that 
it was not for them to affront her by demanding- of 
her unseemly and unreasonable things, since it re- 
mained in her power to do them good or evil. 

In this manner this Queen knew how to give and 
drill in a lesson to her Council. I might tell of other 
instances, but I have other points to treat upon, the 
first of which will be to answer those whom I have 
often heard accuse her of being the first to fly to arms, 
thus being the cause of our civil wars. 

Whoever will look to the source of the thing will 
not believe it; for, the triumvirate being created, with 
the King of Navarre at its head, she (seeing the plots 
that were being concocted, and knowing the change of 
faith made by the King of Navarre — who from being 
Huguenot and very strict, had turned Catholic — and 
knowing by this change she had cause to fear for the 
King, for the kingdom, and for herself, and that he 
might move against them, she reflected and wondered 
to what tended such plots, such numerous meetings, 
colloquies and secret audiences ; and, not being able to 
fathom the mystery, it is said that one day she be- 
thought herself to go to the room above which the secret 
session was being held, and there, by means of a tube 
which she had caused to be surreptitiously inserted 
under the tapestry, she listened unperceived to all their 
plans. 

Among other things she heard one that was very 
terrible and bitter for her^ and that was when Marechal 
de Saint-Andre, one of the triumvirate, proposed that 
the Queen be taken, put in a sack and flung into the 
river, since otherwise they would never succeed in their 
plans. 

But the late M. de Guise, who was always fair and 
generous, said that such a thing must not be, for it 
was going too far, and was too unjust to thus cruelly 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 341 

slay the wife and mother of our kings, and that he was 
utterly opposed to the plan. 

For this the said Queen has always loved him, and 
proved it by her treatment of his children, after his 
death, by giving them his entire possessions. 

I leave to your imagination what such a sentence 
meant to the Queen, hearing it as she did with her own 
ears, and also whether she did not have cause for fear, 
notwithstanding her defence by M. do Guise. 

From what I have heard told by one of the Queen's 
intimates, the Queen feared, as indeed she had cause to, 
that they would strike the blow without the knowledge 
of M. de Guise. For, in a deed so detestable, an up- 
right man is to be distrusted, and should never be 
informed of the act. She was thus compelled to look 
out for her own safety, and to employ for it those who 
were already under arms (the Prince de Conde and 
the leaders of the Protestant party) , imploring them to 
have pity for a mother and her children. 

Such as it was, this was the sole cause of the Civil 
War. 

For this reason she would never go, with the others, 
to Orleans, nor allow them to have the King and her 
children, as she could have done; and she felt glad, 
and with reason, that amongst the uproar and rumour 
of strife, she and the King, her son, and her other 
children were in safety. 

Moreover she begged and obtained the promise from 
others, that when she should summon them to lay 
down their arms that they would do so, but this they 
would not do when the time came, notwithstanding the 
appeals she made to them, and the trouble she took, 
and the great heat she endured at Talsy, trying to 
induce them to listen to terms of peace which she could 
have made favourable and lasting for France had they 
only listened to her. And this conflagration, and 



342 THE MEMOIRS OF 

others which we have seen lighted from this first 
brand, would have been stamped out forever in 
France had they but believed in her. I know the 
zeal she showed, and I know what I myself have heard 
her say, with tears in her eyes. 

This is why they cannot tax her with the first spark 
of the Civil War, nor yet with the second, which was 
that day's work at Meaux, for at that time she was 
thinking only of the hunt, and of giving pleasure to 
the King at her beautiful house at Monceaux. 

The warning came that M. le Prince and those of 
the Religion were under arms and in the field to sur- 
prise and seize the King under pretext of presenting a 
request. 

God knows who was the cause of this new dis- 
turbance, and had it not been for the six thousand 
Swiss troops, newly raised, no one knows what might 
not have happened. 

This levy of Swiss troops was the pretext for them 
to take up arms, and of saying and spreading broad- 
cast that it was done to force them into war. 

But it was they themselves who requested this 
levy of troops from the King and Queen, as I know 
from being then at Court, on account of the march of 
the Duke of Alva and his army, fearing that, under 
pretext of marching on Flanders, he might descend 
upon the frontiers of France, and besides urging that 
it was always the custom to strengthen the frontiers 
whenever a neighbouring state was arming. 

No one can be uniformed of how urgently they 
pressed this upon the King and Queen, both by letters 
and by embassies. Even M. le Prince himself and 
M. I'Admiral (Coligny) came to see the King on this 
subject, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where I saw them. 

I should also like to ask (for all that I write here 
I saw myself), who it was who took up arms on 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 343 

Shrove Tuesday, and who bribed and begged Monsieur, 
the King's brother, and the King of Navarre to hsten 
to the schemes for which Mole and Coconas were exe- 
cuted in Paris? 

It was not the Queen, for it was by her wisdom that 
she prevented them from uprising, holding Monsieur 
and the King of Navarre so imprisoned in the forest 
of Vincennes that they could not break out, and on 
the death of King Charles she held them as tightly in 
Paris and the Louvre, even barring their windows one 
morning — at least those of the King of Navarre, who 
was lodged on the lower floor (this I know from the 
King of Navarre, who told it me with tears in his 
eyes), and kept such strict watch over them that they 
could not escape as they intended. 

Their escape would have greatly embroiled the state 
and prevented the return of Poland to the King, a 
thing for which they were striving. 

I know this from having been invited to the fracas, 
which w^as one of the finest strokes of policy ever made 
by the Queen. 

Starting from Paris, she carried them to the King 
at Lyons so watchfully and skilfully that no one who 
saw^ them w^ould think that they wxre prisoners. 

They journeyed in the same coach with her, and 
she herself presented them to the King, who pardoned 
them soon after their arrival. 

Again, who was it that enticed Monsieur, the King's 
brother, to leave Paris one fine night, casting off the 
affection of his brother who loved him so much, and 
to take up arms and embroil all France? 

M. de La None knows all this, and the plots which 
began at the siege of La Rochelle, and what I told 
him about them. 

It was not the Queen Mother, for on this open and 
abrupt departure by her son, she felt such grief to 



344 THE MEMOIRS OF 

see one brother banded against another brother, his 
King, that she swore she would die of grief if she 
could not reunite them as they were before, which 
she accomplished. I have heard her say at Blois, in 
conversation with Monsieur, that she prayed for noth- 
ing so much as that God would grant the favour of 
this re-union, after which He might send her death 
and she would accept it with the best of heart. Or 
else she would retire to her houses of Monceaux and 
Chenonceaux and never again meddle with the affairs 
of France, willing to end her days in tranquillity. 

In fact she really wished to do this, but the King 
begged her to refrain, for both he and his kingdom 
had great need of her. 

I am assured that had she not gained peace by this 
re-union, all would have been up with France, for 
there were then fifty thousand foreigners scattered 
over France who would have gladly helped to humble 
and destroy her. 

It was not, therefore, the Queen who brought about 
this taking up of arms, nor was it the State Assembly 
at Blois, who wanted but one religion and proposed 
to abolish all contrary to their own, and who de- 
manded that, if the spiritual sword did not sufHce to 
abolish it, recourse should be had to the temporal. 

Some have stated that the Queen bribed them ; this 
was wrong, for in each province there were authorities 
who would not have yielded to her wishes. I do not 
say that she did not win them over later; that was a 
fine stroke of policy, showing her resourcefulness. 
But it was not she who summoned the Assembly. On 
the contrary, she laid all the blame on it, because it 
lessened both the King's authority and her own. It 
was the Church party which had long demanded the 
Assembly, and voluntarily called it together, and re- 
quired by the articles of the last peace that it should 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 345 

be convened and held; to which the Queen strongly 
objected, foreseeing this abuse of power. Nevertheless, 
to quiet their incessant clamour, they were allowed to 
convoke it, tO' their own confusion and injury, not to 
their profit and contentment as they had thought ; and 
for this reason they resorted to arms. Again it was 
not the Queen who did so. 

Neither was it she who caused certain of them to be 
seized when they captured Mont-de-Marsan, La Fere 
in Picardy, and Cahors. I recall what the King said 
to M. de Moissans, who came to him on behalf of the 
King of Navarre. He repulsed him roughly, telling 
him that while these men were cajoling him with fine 
speeches, they were taking up arms and seizing cities. 

This, then, is the way in which the Queen was the 
fomenter of all our wars and civil fires, the which she 
not only did not light but employed all her energies 
and efforts to extinguish, abhorring to see the death of 
so many nobles and landed gentlemen. And without 
that and her commiseration, those who bore against 
her a mortal enmity would have found themselves in 
dire straits, themselves laid beneath the sod, and their 
party not flourishing as it now is. All this must be 
imputed to her goodness of heart, of which we now 
stand in sore need — so everybody agrees and the poor 
people cry : "We no longer have the Queen Mother to 
make peace for us !" It was not through lack of her 
efforts that she did not succeed when she went to 
Guienne recently to treat for peace, at Coignac and 
Jarnac, with the King of Navarre and the Prince de 
Conde. I know that which I have witnessed — the tears 
in her eyes and the regret in her heart to which these 
princes would not yield ; and the result we possibly see 
in the evils which afflict us to-day. 

They have wished to accuse her of having been im- 
plicated in the War of the League. Why, then, should 



346 THE MEMOIRS OF 

she have undertaken to conclude the peace I have just 
mentioned, if she had been? Why should she have 
appeased the riots of the barricades of Paris ; and why 
reconciled the King with the Due de Guise, as we have 
seen, if it were only to destroy the latter? 

In short, no matter how much they slander her, 
never shall we have in France another so active in 
peace. 

But the chief accusation against her is the massacre 
of Paris [of Saint Bartholomew]. All that is a sealed 
book to me, for I was just then setting out by boat 
from Brouage; but I have heard it said on good au- 
thority that she was not the prime mover in it. Three 
or four others, whom I might name, were much more 
active in it than she, pushing her forward and making 
her believe, from threats made upon the wounding of 
Admiral Coligny, that the King was to be killed, with 
herself and all her children, or else that the country 
was to be still worse involved in arms. Certainly the 
Church party were very wrong to utter such threats 
as they are said to have made, for they hastened the 
downward steps of the poor Admiral and procured 
his death. If they had kept their own counsel and 
uttered no word, and allowed the Admiral's wounds to 
heal, he could have left Paris in safety and quiet, and 
nothing else would have happened. M. de La None 
has been strongly of this opinion. Indeed, he and 
M. de Strozze and I have talked it over more than 
once, and he has never approved the bravados, the bold 
threats and the like which were openly made in the 
King's Court and his city of Paris. And he blamed 
no less strongly his brother-in-law, M. de Theligny, 
who was one of the hottest heads of them all, calling 
him a downright fool and blockhead. The Admiral 
never was guilty of this loud talk, at least not in public. 
I do not say that in secret or with his closest friends 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 347 

he did not say things. And this was the true cause 
of his death and of the massacre of his friends, and 
not the Queen, as was charged, ahhough there are many 
who never have been able to get the idea out of their 
heads that this was a train long laid and a fuse well 
concealed. It is false. The least passionate agree with 
me, and the more violent and obstinate think other- 
wise ; and thus very often we credit to kings and great 
princes the ordering of the natural course of events, 
and say afterwards how prudent and provident they 
were and how well they could dissimulate; when 
all the while they knew nothing more about it than 
a plum. 

To return again to the Queen, her enemies have 
given it out that she was not a good Frenchwoman. 
God knows with what zeal she urged that the English 
be driven from Havre de Grace, and what she said 
about it to M. le Prince, and how she made him go, 
with many cavaliers of his party, with the crown-com- 
panies of M. Andelot, and other Huguenots, and how 
she herself led this army, usually on horseback, like 
a second beautiful Queen Marfisa, exposing herself to 
the arquebusades and the cannonades like one of her 
captains, always watching the batteries, and saying 
that she would never be at ease until she had taken 
this city, and driven the English out of France, and 
hating worse than poison those who had sold it to 
them. And she accomplished so much that finally she 
restored it to France. 

When Rouen was besieged I saw her in the greatest 
of fury, when she saw enter English reinforcements, 
by means of a French galley captured the year before, 
fearing that this place, failing to be captured by us, 
might fall into the control of the English. For this 
reason she "pushed hard at the wheel," as the saying 
is, to capture it, and never failed to come each day to 



348 THE MEMOIRS OF 

the fort Sainte-Catherine to hold council and to watcli 
the bombardment. 

I have often seen her passing* along the covered way 
to Sainte-Catherine, while the arquebusades and can- 
nonades rained shot around her^ and her paying no 
attention to them. Those who were there saw it as 
well as I. There are living to-day ladies who accom- 
panied her, to whom the firing was not pleasant (I 
know this for I saw them there) ^ and when M. le 
Connetable and M. le Guise remonstrated with her, tell- 
ing her some accident might happen to her, she merely 
laughed and said that she saw no reason why she 
should spare herself more than they, since her courage 
was as good as theirs, although her sex had denied 
her the same strength. As for hardship, she endured 
that very well, either on foot or horseback. I think 
that for a long time there never was a better queen 
or princess on horsebackj nor one who sat her mount 
with better grace; not seeming for all that like a 
masculine woman, f o<rmed like some fantastic Amazon, 
but a noble princess, beautiful, gracious and sweet. 

It was said of her that she was strongly Spanish. 
Certainly while her good daughter was alive [Eliza- 
beth, wife of Philip II of Spain] she loved the Span- 
ish. But after her daughter died we knew — at least 
some of us— whether she had cause to love either the 
land or the people. It is true that she was always so 
prudent that she desired to receive the Spanish King 
always as a good son-in-law, to the end that he should 
treat her daughter the better, as is the way with good 
mothers ; and also that he might never come tO' trouble 
us in France, nor make war here according to his war- 
like tastes and natural ambition. 

Others have charged that she never liked the nobles 
of France and was always glad to shed their blood. I 
refute that by the many times she made peace and 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 349 

spared bloodshed; and in addition to this one should 
take notice of the fact that while she was Regent and 
her children in their minority, there were not seen at 
Court so many quarrels and duels as we have seen 
since, for she would not countenance them, giving ex- 
press orders against such things and punishing those 
who disobeyed her. At other times, I have often seen 
her at Court when the King had gone away for some 
time leaving her absolutely alone, at a time when quar- 
rels were rife and duels common — which she never 
would permit — I have seen her suddenly give orders to 
the captain of the guards to make arrests, and to the 
marshals and officers to regulate all such quarrels; so 
that, to speak the truth, she was more feared than the 
King, for she well knew how to deal with the dis- 
obedient and unruly and could reprimand them 
severely. 

I remember once, when the King had gone to the 
baths at Bourbon, that my late cousin La Chastaign- 
erie had a quarrel with Pardailhan. She sent to seek 
him, warning him on his life not to fight a duel; but 
being unable to find him for two whole days she had 
him shadowed so well that, on a Sunday morning, the 
Grand Provost found him on the island of Louviers, 
where he was awaiting his enemy, arrested him there, 
and took him as a prisoner to the Bastille, by the 
Queen's orders. But he remained there only overnight, 
and then she sent for him and gave him a reprimand 
partly sharp, partly gentle, for she was naturally of 
good heart, and harsh only when she wished to be. 
I know very well what she said to me also, inasmuch 
as I was to be my cousin's second : that as I was older 
I ought to know better. 

The year that the King returned from Poland, a 
quarrel began between De Grillon and D'Entaigues, 
both brave and valiant gentlemen, who being called 



350 THE MEMOIRS OF 

out and ready to fight, the King gave orders for their 
arrest of M. de Rambotiillet, one of his Captains of the 
Guards on duty; and also ordered M. de Nevers and 
Marshal de Retz to reconcile the two men, which they 
failed to do. The Queen thereupon summoned them 
both, that evening, to her room; and as their quarrel 
was in regard to two great ladies of her household, 
she commanded them sternly and then besought them 
gently to leave to her the settlement of their differ- 
ences ; for since she had done them the honour to med- 
dle in it, and the princes, marshals, and captains had 
failed to bring them together, she wished to have the 
credit and honour for so doing. By this means she made 
them friends, and they embraced unreservedly, taking 
all from her; so that by her prudence the subject of 
the quarrel, which touched upon the honour of the two 
ladies and was rather delicate, was never known pub- 
licly. This shows the great goodness of the Princess ! 
And then to charge that she never liked the nobility! 
Ha ! If the truth were known she liked and esteemed 
it too much. I believe that there was not a house in 
her kingdom with whom she was not personally ac- 
quainted. It is said that she learned all about them 
from the great King Francis, who knew all the 
genealogies of the great families of his kingdom; 
while as for her husband, the King, he had this faculty 
that after he had once seen a gentleman he recognised 
him ever after, knowing not only his face but also his 
deeds and his reputation. I have seen this Queen, fre- 
quently and as a usual thing, when her son the King 
was a minor, take the trouble to present to him per- 
sonally the gentlemen of his realm, reminding him that 
'This one has rendered good service to the King, your 
grandfather," and such and such things "to the King, 
your father," and so on; and commanding him to be 
mindful of them, to cherish them, look after their in- 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 351 

terests, and remember them by name. And that he 
heeded her advice was seen later, for, through this in- 
struction, the King was thoroughly infoniied of the 
gentlemen of rank and honourable race who resided in 
his kingdom. 

These detractors have also said that she never loved 
her people. This does not appear. Did she ever levy 
as many taxes, subsidies, imposts and other duties, 
while she directed the Government during the minority 
of her children, as has been levied since in a single 
year ? Have they ever discoverd any hoards of money 
here or in the banks of Italy, as has been believed? 
On the contrary, after her death they never found a 
solitary coin; and I have heard some of her creditors 
and ladies say that after her death she was found to 
be in debt to the sum of eight thousand crowns, the 
wages of her ladies, gentlemen, and officers of her 
household for an entire year, and the income of a year 
spent in advance; so that, some months before her 
death, her bankers remonstrated with her over this def- 
icit. But she laughed and said that one must praise 
God for everything and enjoy it while one was alive. 

This, then, was her avarice, and the great wealth 
which she is said to have amassed. She never saved 
anything, for she had a heart wholly noble, liberal and 
magnificent, in every way the equal of that of her 
great-uncle, the Pope Leo, and of the celebrated 
Lorenzo de Medici. She spent and gave everything 
away ; erecting buildings or applying it to memorable 
spectacles ; and taking delight in giving entertainments 
to her people or Court, such as festivals, balls, dances, 
combats, and tourneys, three specially superb events 
being given during her lifetime. The first was at 
Fontainebleau, a carnival after the first troubles, where 
there were tourneys, and breaking of lances, and com- 
bats at the barrier ; in brief, all sorts of joustings, f ol- 



352 THE MEMOIRS OF 

lowed by a comedy on the subject of the beautiful 
Genevra of Ariosto which was played by Madame 
d'Angouleme and her most beautiful and virtuous 
princesses and ladies and demoiselles of her Court, who 
certainly played it very well, so that nothing more 
beautiful was ever seen. The next was at Bayonne, at 
the interview between the Queen and her daughter, the 
Queen of Spain, where the magnificence was such in all 
things that the Spaniards, who are very disdainful of 
other countries besides their own, swore that they had 
never seen anything more splendid, and that their King 
could hardly rival it ; and so they returned home greatly 
edified. 

I know that many in France blamed this expense 
as quite unnecessary. But the Queen said she had done 
it to show other nations that France was not so totally 
ruined and poverty-stricken by reason of her recent 
wars as was supposed ; and that, since she was able to 
spend so much for frivolity, she would be able to do 
far more for affairs of consequence and importance; 
and that France was all the more to be esteemed and 
feared, whether through the sight of so much wealth 
and richness, or the spectacle of so great an array of 
gentlemen, so brave and adroit at arms — for certainly 
there was a goodly number and worthy to be admired. 
And so it was for good and sufficient reason that our 
most Christian Queen made this splendid festival; for 
be assured that if she had not done so, the visitors 
would have derided us and returned home with a poor 
opinion of France. 

A third exceedingly fine entertainment was given by 
her on the arrival of the Polish envoys in Paris, whom 
she dined superbly at the Tuileries; and afterwards in 
a grand ball-room made especially for the spectacle 
and entirely enclosed by a countless number of torches, 
she presented the most beautiful ballet ever seen on 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 353 

earth (if I may say so), which comprised sixteen ladies 
and demoiselles who were best suited to it. They ap- 
peared in a great grotto of silver, being seated in 
niches and clad as though in vapour about its sides. 
These sixteen ladies represented the sixteen provinces 
of France, with the most melodious music possible; 
and after having made, in this grotto, the round of 
the hall like a review of troops, giving an opportunity 
for all to see them, they descended from the grotto 
and formed themselves into a little company fantasti- 
cally arranged, while an orchestra of thirty violins dis- 
coursed sweet music, and marched to the melody of 
these violins by a beautiful dance step, approaching 
and halting before their majesties. After this they 
danced their ballet, so fantastically invented, with so 
many turns and convolutions, twinings and twistings, 
in which no lady failed to find her own place again, 
that all the spectators were amazed at the accuracy 
and grace of the evolutions. This unique ballet lasted 
for at least an hour, after which the ladies represent- 
ing, as I have said, the sixteen provinces advanced to 
the King, the Queen, the King of Poland, Monsieur 
his brother, the King and Queen of Navarre, and other 
notables of France and Poland, tendering to each a 
golden salver as large as the palm of the hand, finely 
enamelled and engraved, showing the fruits and prod- 
ucts peculiar to each province, as for example: In 
Provence, citrons and oranges ; in Champagne, cereals ; 
in Burgundy, wines; in Guienne, soldiers — certainly 
a great honour to Guienne ! — and so on through the 
various other provinces. 

At Bayonne similar gifts were bestowed, and a com- 
bat was fought which I would willingly describe, but 
it would take too much space. But at Bayonne the 
men presented gifts to the ladies, while here it was 
the ladies giving to the men. And note that all these 



354 THE MEMOIRS OF 

inventions were derived from no other bounty and 
brain than that of the Queen. She was mistress and 
deviser of everything. She had such a knack that, no 
matter what spectacles were offered at Court, hers 
surpassed all the others. So they had a saying that 
only the Queen Mother knew how to do fine things. 
And if such shows were expensive, they also gave gieat' 
pleasure, and people used tO' say that she wished to 
imitate the Roman emperors, who studied how to ex- 
hibit games to the people and give them pleasure, and 
so amuse them that they had no time to get into 
mischief. 

In addition to the fact that she delighted to give 
pleasure to her people, she gave them much money to 
earn; for she greatly preferred all kinds of skilled 
workmen and paid them well. Each was kept busy at* 
his own work, so that they never lacked employment, 
especially masons and architects, as will be seen in her 
beautiful mansions — ^the Tuileries (still unfinished), 
Saint Maur, Monceaux, and Chenonceaux. Also she 
favoured men of genius and gladly read, or had read to 
her, the works which they presented to her or which 
she knew they had written, even the high-flown in- 
vectives which they launched against her, at which she 
scoffed and laughed, but took no other notice of, call- 
ing the writers prattlers and penny-liners. 

She wished to know everything. On the journey 
to Lorraine, during the second uprising, the Huguenots 
took with them a very fine culverin which they nick- 
named the "queen mother." They were obliged to 
bury it at Villenozze as they were unable to drag it 
further because of its excessive weight and poor har- 
ness ; and they were never able to find it again. The 
Queen Mother was curious to know why they had 
named the gun for her, when she heard about it. 
Finally some one, after being strongly pressed by her 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 355 

for the reason, replied: "Because, Madame, she has 
a greater caHbre and is. larger than any of the others." 
The Queen was the first to laugh at this reply. 

The Queen spared no pains to read anything which 
struck her fancy. On one occasion I saw her embark- 
ing at Blaye on her way to dine at Bourg, and occupy- 
'ng the whole journey by reading from a parchment, 
like some reporter or lawyer, a deposition made by 
Derdois, favourite secretary of the late M. le Connet- 
able, concerning certain actions and information of 
which he had been accused and for which imprisoned 
at Bayonne. She never lifted her eyes until she had 
finished reading the whole thing, and there were more 
than ten pages of it. When she was not prevented 
she herself read all letters of importance addressed to 
her, and often wrote the reply with her own hand, 
whether to the most exalted or insignificant person. 
I saw her once, after dinner, indite twenty such letters 
of considerable length. 

She wrote and spoke French very well, although an 
Italian. She even addressed those of her own nation 
often in French, so much did she honour it, making 
special effort to exhibit its fine diction to strangers and 
ambassadors who came to pay her their respects after 
seeing the King. She would reply to them very 
pertinently, with grace and dignity, just as I have 
heard her speak to the courts of parliament both pub- 
licly and privately; often keeping them well in hand 
when they were extravagant or over-cautious, and did 
not wish to yield to the royal edicts or to the wishes 
of the King or herself. You may be sure that she 
spoke as a Queen and made herself feared as such. 
I saw her once at Bordeaux when she took her daugh- 
ter, the Queen of Navarre, to her husband. She had 
commanded the Court to come with her and spoke 
urgently on the subject to these gentlemen, who did 

Memoirs— 12 Vol.. 1 



356 THE MEMOIRS OF 

not wish to abolish a certain fraternity which they had 
founded and adhered to^ and which she wished to dis- 
solve, foreseeing- that it might lead tO' some end 
prejudicial to the state. They came to visit her in 
the Bishop's garden, where she was walking- one Sun- 
day morning. One of them, the spokesman, showed to 
her the usefulness of this fraternity and its good 
offices for the people. She, without preparation, re- 
sponded so well, with such apt words and cogent rea- 
sons to show why it was badly founded and odious, 
that there was none present who could help but admire 
the spirit of the Queen or remain astonished and con- 
fused at her logic. She concluded with these words: 
"No, I wish it, and the King my son wishes that this 
order shall be abolished and that the subject may never 
again be discussed, for secret reasons which I shall not 
give you, in addition to those which I have given; 
otherwise I shall make you sensible of what it means to 
disobey the King and me." After that they all went 
their way, and nothing more was heard of the matter. 

She assumed this manner very often and kept in line 
the princes and haughty lords when they had com- 
mitted some large indiscretion and made her angry. 
Then she put on her grandest air, and no other living 
person could be so proud and disdainful as she, when 
it was necessary, sparing the truth to no one. I have 
seen the late M. de Savoie, who was a friend of the 
Emperor, the King of Spain, and many notables, fear 
and respect her more than if she had been his mother; 
and M. de Lorraine the same^ — in short, all the great 
people of Christendom. I could cite many instances, 
which at another time and in their own place I may 
do, but at present what I have said will suffice. 

Among all her other fine qualities, she was a good 
Christian and very devout, always observing her fast 
days and never failing to attend daily service, either 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 357 

mass or vespers, which she made very agreeable to 
worshippers by the good singers in her chapel, being 
careful to select the finest artists. She had a natural 
taste for music and often entertained the Court in her 
own apartment, which was never closed to right- 
minded ladies and gentlemen. She saw each and every- 
one, not denying admittance as was the custom in 
Spain and also in her own country, Italy; nor yet as 
our other Queens, Elizabeth of Austria and Louise of 
Lorraine, have done ; but saying, like King Francis, her 
father-in-law, whom she greatly honoured as he had 
raised her to her high position, that she wished to 
maintain the true French spirit as the King her 
husband had also desired. So her rooms were always 
accessible to the Court. 

Generally, she had very beautiful and virtuous maids 
of honour, who could be seen every day in her ante- 
chamber chatting with us and entertaining us so 
sensibly and modestly that none of us would have 
dared do otherwise; for the gentlemen who fell short 
of this were denied admittance, or warned of even 
worse punishment, until she pardoned them and ex- 
tended her favour again, which out of her good heart 
she was ready to do. 

In a word, her company and her Court were a real 
Paradise in this world, and a school of honesty and 
virtue, the ornament of France, as was well known 
and spoken of by its visitors; for they were all well 
received, and in their honour her ladies were com- 
manded to adorn themselves like goddesses and devote 
themselves to these guests instead of elsewhere ; other- 
wise she would scold and reprimand them severely. 

Indeed, such was her Court, that when she died all 
said that we would never have such another, and that 
never again would France have a real Queen Mother. 
What a Court it was ! Its equal, I believe, was never 



358 THE MEMOIRS OF 

held by an Emperor of Rome, in respect to Its ladies, 
nor by any of our Kings of France. It is true that the 
great Emperor Charlemagne took great delight in 
maintaining a splendid and overflowing Court, with 
many peers, dukes, counts, paladins, barons, and 
chevaliers of France, with their wives and daughters, 
and many from other countries to keep their company 
at Court — as we read in many of the old romances of 
the time — and that there were many jousts, tourneys 
and magnificent pageants. But what of that? These 
gorgeous assemblages did not come together more 
than three or four times a year, and at their close they 
departed and retired to their own estates, to remain 
until the next time. Moreover, others say that 
Charlemagne in his old age was much given to 
women, although they were always of good family, 
and that Louis the Debonair on ascending the throne 
was obliged to banish some of his sisters from Court, 
by reason of scandalous love affairs which they had 
with men; and also that he dismissed a large number 
of ladies who were of the joyous band. These courts, 
moreover, of Charlemagne were never long main- 
tained in comparison to his long reign, for he was 
chiefly devoted to his wars, as we read in the old 
romances; and in his old age the Court was too dis- 
solute, as I have said. But the Court of our King, 
Henry II, and the Queen his wife, was an established 
thing both in war and peace, and whether held in one 
place or another for months at a time, either In the 
pleasure houses or castles of our kings who were 
never lacking in them, having more than any other 
sovereigns. This elegant and distinguished company 
always kept together, at least for the greater part of 
the time, going and coming with the Queen; so that 
as a usual thing her Court contained at least three 
hundred ladies and maids of honour. 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 359 

The chiefs of households and royal stewards af- 
firmed that they always occupied at least one-half of 
all the apartments, as I myself have seen during the 
thirty-three years that I lived at Court, except during 
time of war, or while in foreign countries. But upon 
my return I w^as habitually there, for life there was 
most agreeable to me, and I never saw anything so 
attractive elsewhere. And I think that the w^orld, 
since then, has never seen its equal; and as the list 
of those fair dames who assisted our Queen to orna- 
ment the Court should not be slighted, I shall mention 
some of them here as they occur to me, whom I saw 
after the Queen's marriage and during her widowhood. 
Before that time I was too young. 

First of all, there were Mesdames, the daughters of 
France [the Royal Princesses]. I head the list with 
them because they never lost their high rank, and be- 
long before all the others, so grand and noble was 
their house, viz. : Madame Elizabeth of France, after- 
wards Queen of Spain. 

Madame Claude, since Duchess of Lorraine. 

Madame Marguerite, afterwards Queen of Navarre. 

Madame, the King's sister, afterwards Duchess of 
Savoie. 

Mary Queen of Scots, afterwards Dauphiness and 
Queen of France. 

The Queen of Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret. 

Madame Catharine, her daughter, now^ Madame, the 
King's sister. 

Madame Diane, natural daughter of King Henry 
II, afterwards legitimatised and made Duchess d'An- 
gouleme. 

Madame D'Enghien, heiress of Estouteville. 

Madame the Princess of Conde. 

Madame de Nevers. 

Madame de Guise. 



36o THE MEMOIRS OF 

Madame Diane de Poitiers [the King's favourite], 

Mesdames, the Duchesses d'Aumale and de Bouil- 
lon, and their daughters. 

Madame de Montpensier/ 

But why name any others? No, for my memory 
could not supply them all. Indeed, there are so many 
other ladies and maidens that I beg of them to excuse 
me if I pass them by with a stroke of the pen. Not 
that I do not hold and esteem them highly, but I should 
dream over them and devote myself to them too much. 
I will say, to conclude this, that in all this company I 
can name none who might be found fault with, for 
beauty abounded everywhere, and all was majesty, 
gentleness and grace. Lucky was the man who might 
be touched with the love of such fair ones, and very 
lucky he who could escape it. I swear to you that I 
have named none who were not very beautiful, agree- 
able and accomplished, and so endowed as to fire the 
whole world with passion. Indeed, some of them in 
their zenith did set fire to a good part of it, including 
those of us gentlemen of the Court who approached 
too close to the flames. Also to many were they sweet, 
amiable, favourable, and courteous. I allude now to 
certain ones of whom I wish to relate good stories in 
this book before I have ended it, and of others who 
are not included. But all will be told so quietly and 
without scandal that none can take offence, for the 
curtain of silence will cover their names; so that if 
any of them should happen to read stories of them- 
selves they will not be displeased. For although the 
pleasures of love cannot last forever, on account of too 
many hindrances, accidents and changes, the memories 
of past joys delight us none the less. 

* The author here continues with a long catalogue of names in- 
cluding some one hundred and fifty other ladies of the Court, 
belonging to various noble houses of France. 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 361 

Now, in order to give proper consideration to them, 
it would be necessary to see for oneself all this lovely 
array of dames and demoiselles, creatures more divine 
than human; it would be necessary to represent them 
in their entrances into Paris and other cities, or at 
the holy and splendid nuptials of the royal famil}^ — - 
such as those of the Dauphin, King Charles, King 
Henry III, the King of Spain, Madame de Lorraine, 
the Queen of Navarre^ as well as other grand weddings 
of princes and princesses, such as that of M. de 
Joyeuse, which would have surpassed them all if the 
Queen of Navarre had been present. Nor must we 
forget the interview at Bayonne, the Polish embassy, 
and an infinite number of similar spectacles which I 
should never be able to finish counting, where could 
be seen an array of these ladies, each seemingly more 
beautiful than the rest^ and some more handsomely 
apparelled than others, since at such festivities, in ad- 
dition to their own wealthy the King or the Queen 
gave them splendid liveries of different kinds. 

In a word, no one ever saw anything finer, more 
dazzling, attractive, superb. The glory of Niquee 
[in the enchanted palace of "Amadis"] never ap- 
proached it; for one could see all this glowing in the 
ballrooms at the Palace or the Louvre, like the stars 
of heaven in the clear sky. The Queen desired and 
commanded that they should always appear in lovely 
and expensive apparel, although she herself, during her 
widowhood, never dressed in worldly silks, unless of 
subdued tints, but always in good taste and well- 
fitting, so that she looked the Queen above all others. 
It is true that on the wedding days of her sons Charles 
and Henry she wore robes of black velvet, wishing, she 
said, to solemnise these occasions in this way beyond 
all others. But while her husband the King was alive, 
she dressed very richly and superbly, and looked the 



2<02 THE MEMOIRS OF 

great lady that she was. It was a privilege to see 
and admire her, in the general processions which were 
held both at Paris and elsewhere, such as that of the 
Fete Dieu, and that of Palm Sunday, carrying palms 
and torches with such grace, and that of Candlemas 
Day, when all carried lighted candles whose flame vied 
with their own splendour. In these three processions, 
which are the most noteworthy, assuredly one could 
see nothing but beauty, grace, noble bearing, stately 
marching and fine array — at sight of which all the by- 
standers were spellbound. 

It was also a fine sight in the earlier days to see the 
Queen going about in her litter, or on horseback, when 
she was attended by forty or fifty ladies all well 
mounted on handsome steeds finely caparisoned and 
sitting their mounts with such ease that the men could 
not exceed them, either in horsemanship or accoutre- 
ment. Their hats were richly decorated with plumes 
which floated back in the air seeming to offer a chal- 
lenge of love or war. Virgil, who attempted to write 
of the beautiful apparel of Queen Dido when she went 
hunting, does not rival in description the luxury of our 
Queen and her ladies, whom I do not wish to displease, 
as I have already said. 

This Queen, established by the hand of the great 
King Francis, who introduced this beautiful pag- 
eantry, did not wish to forget or neglect anything that 
she ever learned, but always wished to imitate it, to 
see if she could surpass it. I have heard her talk on 
this subject three or four times. Those who have seen 
all the things that I have will feel the same delight of 
the soul that I do, for what I say is true and I have 
seen it myself. 

This, then, was the Court of our Queen. How un- 
fortunate was the day she died! I have heard it re- 
lated that our present King [Henry IV], some eighteen 



CATHERINE DE MEDICI 363 

months after he saw his prospects brightening to be- 
come King, one da}^ began to talk over with the late 
Marshal de Biron the designs and projects which he 
would set on foot to make his Court well established, 
elegant, and closely similar to that which our Queen 
maintained ; for it was then in the heyday of its lustre 
and splendour. The Marshal replied : 'Tt is not in your 
power, nor in that of any King who is to succeed, un^ 
less you make a compact with God that He resuscitate 
the Queen Mother and bring her back to your aid." 
But that w^as not what the King desired, for there 
was no one, at the time she died, whom he hated so 
much, and without reason that I could see. But he 
ought to know better than I. 

How unlucky indeed was the day when such a Queen 
died, and at the time when w^e had the greatest need of 
her, as we still have ! 

She died at Blois from melancholy over the mas- 
sacre which occurred there, and the sad tragedy which 
was enacted, seeing that unthinkingly she had caused 
the princes to come there, thinking to do the right 
thing; whereas, on the contrary, as the Cardinal de 
Bourbon said to her : "Alas, Madame ! you have led us 
all to the slaughter, without intending it." That so 
touched her heart, and also the death of these poor 
gentlemen, that she took to her bed, having been pre- 
viously ill, and never again rose from it. 

They say that when the King told her of M. dc 
Guise's death, saying that now he was King indeed, 
without rival or master, she asked him if he had put 
the affairs of his kingdom in order before striking 
the blow. He replied that he had. "God grant it, 
my son !" said she. Very prudent that she was, she 
foresaw clearly what might happen to him and to all 
the kingdom. 

Various reports have gone about concerning her 



f 

364 CATHERINE DE MEDICI 

death, some even saying that it was from poison. 
Possibly so, possibly not; but she is believed to have 
died of despair of soul, as she had reason for. She 
was placed upon her bed of state, as I have heard 
said, by one of her ladies, in pomp neither more nor 
less than Queen Anne, of whom I have spoken else- 
where, and clad in the same royal vesture, which has 
not served since her death for any others; and was 
then carried into the church of the castle, in the same 
pomp and solemnity as at the funeral of Queen Anne, 
where she still lies and reposes. The King had wished 
to carry her body to Chartres, and thence to Saint 
Denis, to place it by the side of the King her husband, 
in the same imposing vault which he had caused to be 
built, but the ensuing war prevented him. 

This is what I can say at this time of our great 
Queen, who has assuredly given us so worthy a subject 
to speak in praise of her, that this brief essay is not 
long enough to sing her praises. I know it well, and 
also that the quality of my mind does not suffice, 
since better speakers than I would still be inadequate. 
However, such as it is, I lay this discourse in all 
humility and devotion at her feet. And also I wish to 
avoid too great prolixity, for which indeed I feel my- 
self liable. But I earnestly hope that in my discourse 
I shall not defraud her of much, although I am silent 
on many things, speaking only of essential matters 
and those which her beautiful and unequalled virtues 
demand of me ; giving me ample material since I have 
seen all that I write concerning her ; while as for that 
which took place before my day, I received it from 
very illustrious persons. 

This queen the mother of so many kings, 
And queens as well, within our realm of France, 

Died when we needed her in many things. 
For none save she could give us such assistance. 



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